Will all the real Colts fans please stand up!?!

[hornadylnl]

While I see your point ... the problem is how many other businesses would be affectedby. The decrease in downtown visitors.

It's no surprise that people make excuses for or turn a blind eye to socialism when they are the recipients of it.

I live in a run down white trash town. How much are you willing to pony up to make my town better? Maybe they can build a minor league sports team stadium here so we can get more jobs, etc.

 

[Ogre]

It's no surprise that people make excuses for or turn a blind eye to socialism when they are the recipients of it.

I live in a run down white trash town. How much are you willing to pony up to make my town better? Maybe they can build a minor league sports team stadium here so we can get more jobs, etc.

What selective socialism doesn't appeal to you?

 

[Knife Lady]

If you dont like the COLTS then dont support them. Period. I have never seen so many men be so whiny about sports. I like the fact that we have Pro sports in our State. Everytime you grocery shop you are making someones wallets fat. So you are gonna pick and choose whose wallet you make fat? Go right ahead and so will I . I will continue to support the Colts. So when the Superbowl comes here will you be whining still?? Nothing wrong with our city growing. When you hire a contractor to build your new house you put money in his pocket. Seems double standard to me. Like I said I love the Colts football. I am very glad they are here. I dont care about Irsay and his money. All team owners have money. GO COLTS

 

[indyjoe]

I enjoy watching the Colts games, but it isn't really a choice of supporting them or not. Everyone that pays the extra sales taxes in Indianapolis are supporting them, with the only choice of staying in motels and restaurants outside of the city.

 

[Mr. Habib]

...

 

[Mr. Habib]

If you dont like the COLTS then dont support them. Period. I have never seen so many men be so whiny about sports. I like the fact that we have Pro sports in our State. Everytime you grocery shop you are making someones wallets fat. So you are gonna pick and choose whose wallet you make fat? Go right ahead and so will I . I will continue to support the Colts. So when the Superbowl comes here will you be whining still?? Nothing wrong with our city growing. When you hire a contractor to build your new house you put money in his pocket. Seems double standard to me. Like I said I love the Colts football. I am very glad they are here. I dont care about Irsay and his money. All team owners have money. GO COLTS

Thank you for helping me prove my point. You should be able to choose to support any team you wish, or none at all. If I am compelled to support a team, or any other business for that matter, through my tax money it is no longer my choice.

 

[hornadylnl]

If you dont like the COLTS then dont support them. Period. I have never seen so many men be so whiny about sports. I like the fact that we have Pro sports in our State. Everytime you grocery shop you are making someones wallets fat. So you are gonna pick and choose whose wallet you make fat? Go right ahead and so will I . I will continue to support the Colts. So when the Superbowl comes here will you be whining still?? Nothing wrong with our city growing. When you hire a contractor to build your new house you put money in his pocket. Seems double standard to me. Like I said I love the Colts football. I am very glad they are here. I dont care about Irsay and his money. All team owners have money. GO COLTS

How would you feel if the city of Indianapolis raised your property taxes to build a casino or a strip club? How would you feel if they raised your taxes so they could pay for 90% of the cost of a new Walmart while Walmart gets to keep 90% of the profits?

 

[Ogre]

How would you feel if the city of Indianapolis raised your property taxes to build a casino or a strip club? How would you feel if they raised your taxes so they could pay for 90% of the cost of a new Walmart while Walmart gets to keep 90% of the profits?

That example only holds water if said WalMart charges so much that it is just about beyond the means of most to buy anything from....

I am a Colts fan (although they are testing my patience right now), but those who live, dine, or choose to stay in hotels in Marion or the donut counties, have no choice.

 

[88GT]

You people that gripe about the stadium seem to forget that it get used for more than just Colt games. There is a constant flow of events that come into Indianapolis that utilize the convention center, and Lucas Oil Stadium. The DCI drum and bugle corps have a 20 year deal to have their national finals at Lucas. These events generate money for the city, and the state, and broaden the tax base. Think about what downtown Indianapolis looked like before Conseco Fieldhouse, The Convention Center, and Lucas Oil Stadium. Think about all the revenue that is brought into the city, and all the jobs that are created, by the events that take place in these venues. Think about all the jobs that were, and are still created by the construction that goes along with these venues. Publicly funded stadiums are the norm and have been for some time. Downtown Indy used to be a dump, now it is a pleasure to spend time in the city. Quit whining, and consider yourself lucky to be a part of such a great city, and be happy that the Irsay's brought the Colts to town. If you want to whine make your own whining thread, this thread is for Colts fans.

He speaks the truth. The Convention Center had already lost 3 of the 10 biggest conventions because those organizations had outgrown the capacity of the old Convention Center to accommodate them. And several of the others were indicating similar choices for future years. There is no way the city was not going to expand the Convention Center (and rightly so). But the only feasible expansion was into the space occupied by the Dome.

Count me in as part of the minority also. I get really tired of the 'look how much money it brings into the community' argument. Any profitable business brings money into the city. If the Colts, Pacers, or any other business can't make enough to pay their way, then let them move or close.

If you like living in a big city that has turned sh1thole, move to Detroit. Because without the infusion of out-of-town dollars, that's what our down town would be. The text in red is key, but what you seem to fail to realize is that profit is driven by people spending money. And people don't spend money where they don't go. Nor do they spend money where they're afraid to go. So without the draw of professional sports or large conventions, what's to get people downtown to spend their money so those businesses can be profitable?

I don't mind taxpayer support in the form of consumption taxes, especially since most of those are directly related to "tourism" (in quotes to indicate broad definition) dollars. (And let's not forget that Peterson wanted to fund the thing largely with gambling proceeds, but our holier-than-thou populace couldn't stand the idea of sin funding a sporting venue. So our ultra-conservative nature actually added to the liability placed on taxpayers.) And property taxes do NOT fund the stadium. The use of the option and income tax manipulation finds no friend in me, but that's what votes are for, yes?

Being in the minority has its drawbacks, I guess.

 

[Knife Lady]

How would you feel if the city of Indianapolis raised your property taxes to build a casino or a strip club? How would you feel if they raised your taxes so they could pay for 90% of the cost of a new Walmart while Walmart gets to keep 90% of the profits?

First of all the sporting events do bring in revenue due to people coming into town and while they are here they spend money just like with the Indy 500 or the NASCAR Brickyard or the NCAA tourney. I dont think comparing a Walmart store who btw does give employment ( such as it is) to a sporting event is not quite the same thing since they mostly serve the local community. Just my

 

[88GT]

Oh, I forgot to mention my comment about yesterday's loss.

It's just Caldwell's attempt to eliminate the distractions that always come with the "Will they have an undefeated season?" chatter. Now the players don't have to worry about that issue.

 

[Cru]

Oh, I forgot to mention my comment about yesterday's loss.

It's just Caldwell's attempt to eliminate the distractions that always come with the "Will they have an undefeated season?" chatter. Now the players don't have to worry about that issue.

LOL! That's the first time I've heard that one. Most people have been saying (in sore loser little kid voice) "Well, 2 in 15 I guess we can let them have that one" or something similar.

As for the politics, I see both points but tend to lean on the I think it's pretty bad how they went about it. I think the new stadium is ugly on the skyline, and I think the tax increases on Food/Bev (something pretty much everyone needs) is put to use on something few can afford to benefit from. I personally CAN afford to go, I just choose not to. (I just wanted to make sure it didn't look like I'm coming from the angry because I can't have something side)

The colts administration were more than willing to pull the "OMG We'll just move" crap to get their way, and it's been proven that they don't mind pulling out of a city in the middle of the night, so for me, I would have had a hard time reasoning giving them what they wanted.

So to sum up, Yes I agree the RCA dome was small, and if the team was going to stay, then they probably needed a new stadium, but I think they overdid it and funded it the wrong way.

OK, that's it. If anyone actually read all of that, I hope you don't feel you wasted your time.

 

[hornadylnl]

The fact that they put these venues downtown is all the more reason I don't go. I got discounted tickets to an Indians game last year. It was a beautiful park. Too bad I had to spend the first several innings staring into the sun to see the game. That was brilliant planning. Then it came time to leave. I forget how long it even took us to get out of the parking garage, let alone to 65. I absolutely hate driving downtown. If you do it every day, it would be a lot easier as you know where to go, which streets are one way, etc. Instead, I get to be that stupid tourist not knowing where to go and holding up traffic.

Parking downtown is absolutely terrible as well. My brother had an ice skating party for his daughter at Pan Am plaza. He told us to park in the parking garage near by. Then come to find out, we had to pay $15 or $20 for parking because they had an event going on that night. If we didn't want to pay that much, we had to go to the circle center mall and buy something to get a receipt to pay normal parking price.

Add in all the hoodlums and thugs, you can keep your downtown. I never understood why they didn't build these stadiums right off of the 465 loop to move traffic in and out faster. We parked in the Disney parking lots every day when we went last summer. Even if we left when the parks were closing, it never took us more than 15 minutes to get off of Disney property. I guess the difference is that Disney actually cares about customer service.

 

[jd4320t]

The fact that they put these venues downtown is all the more reason I don't go. They are downtown to draw the people downtown. When people come to the big city they want to come downtown. I got discounted tickets to an Indians game last year. It was a beautiful park. Too bad I had to spend the first several innings staring into the sun to see the game. That was brilliant planning. In an open stadium you will have to stare at the sun at some point. It has absolutely nothing to do with how they planned and built it. Also, baseball will almost always include the sun. I've been fried MANY time from playing and watching it in the sun. Then it came time to leave. I forget how long it even took us to get out of the parking garage, let alone to 65. I absolutely hate driving downtown. If you do it every day, it would be a lot easier as you know where to go, which streets are one way, etc. Instead, I get to be that stupid tourist not knowing where to go and holding up traffic. If a consumer isn't familiar with downtown it isn't anyones fault but their own. There are many places I'm not familiar with but I'm not just going to go there without a plan, then complain about how hard it was for me to navigate when it's my fault.

Parking downtown is absolutely terrible as well. My brother had an ice skating party for his daughter at Pan Am plaza. He told us to park in the parking garage near by. Then come to find out, we had to pay $15 or $20 for parking because they had an event going on that night. If we didn't want to pay that much, we had to go to the circle center mall and buy something to get a receipt to pay normal parking price. Parking is not terrible downtown. Ther are MANY parking garages within walking distance of PanAm Plaza. Also, there is on the street parking. It's not the cities fault that your brother scheduled the party on a busy night downtown. What are they supposed to do? Discount parking for a birthday party?

Add in all the hoodlums and thugs, you can keep your downtown. I never understood why they didn't build these stadiums right off of the 465 loop to move traffic in and out faster. We parked in the Disney parking lots every day when we went last summer. Even if we left when the parks were closing, it never took us more than 15 minutes to get off of Disney property. I guess the difference is that Disney actually cares about customer service.

GO COLTS!

 

[hornadylnl]

GO COLTS!

I'm hardly alone in wanting to avoid the cluster fark that is down town traffic. It shouldn't take me nearly as long to leave the game as it does to watch it.

 

[public servant]

Ahhhhh...it's mid-September and football is in the air. And I see the Colts' number one fan is in full swing.

 

[The Keymaster]

I am one of those "out of towners" that drops a significant amount of money in Indy during the Colts season. We drive down from the Valpo area for every game. It is an event for us. We stay at least 1 and sometimes 2 nights in a downtown hotel, eat at least 3 meals, and go to Circle Center to shop, or sometimes see a movie. My wife enjoys shopping at the catholic store downtown, and I enjoy the canal area. We will sometimes catch a Pacers game just to pass some time. We are able to do all of this because ALL OF THE VENUES ARE DOWNTOWN. We can park our car for the weekend, and walk where ever we want to go. Cincinnati is the same way, and it's great. I work in Chicago, and there are no sports venues in the downtown area. US Cellular field is right of I90/I94, and parking there sucks. You are still going to pay 20-25 bucks to park, even if the venue is out of the city. Miller Park in Milwaukee is a prime example. It is in the middle of nowhere. I would never go back, because it is not convenient to the downtown area. being able to park my car and walk in downtown Indy works for us. I don't know where these "thugs" are but they have NEVER bothered us. If you walk with confidence, keep your head up, look around, and create an air about you that says "I will not be a victim" you will not be a victim. That is the way we do it in Chicago, and I have worked in some of the worst neighborhoods there are. Indianapolis is a great place to visit. It is one of our favorites. The people that live in the Indy area should be proud that money has been spent to revitalize the downtown area. I would love to live in the Indianapolis area, instead of in the shadow of Chicago.

 

[Indy317]

I would love to live in the Indianapolis area, instead of in the shadow of Chicago.

And I would love for all 92 counties to be taxed to provide all these fancy facilities in the capital city. It is the capital of the entire state, so why do only the citizens of a handful of counties get bent over? A .5% food and beverage tax for all 92 counties would have Conseco, Ir$ay Stadium, Victory Field, etc. paid off in full in a few short years. If all 92 counties were paying, I wouldn't even mind sharing the wealth between the other major metro areas for whatever they thought would help grow their regions (roads, redevelopment, demolition, etc.)

What are they supposed to do? Discount parking for a birthday party?

No, they should just keep the same prices, instead of raping people because there is a "special event" downtown. Some of these companies get a government handout, tax break, whatever, and they seem to need to charge $15 or $20 on a special event night when any other night it is $1.50 at the mall garages up to $7 at the other garages.

 

[The Keymaster]

And I would love for all 92 counties to be taxed to provide all these fancy facilities in the capital city. It is the capital of the entire state, so why do only the citizens of a handful of counties get bent over? A .5% food and beverage tax for all 92 counties would have Conseco, Ir Stadium, Victory Field, etc. paid off in full in a few short years. If all 92 counties were paying, I wouldn't even mind sharing the wealth between the other major metro areas for whatever they thought would help grow their regions (roads, redevelopment, demolition, etc.)

That's the point. The other areas of the state do not get to share the wealth. These venues and hotels bring money and jobs into INDIANAPOLIS. That money and those jobs are funded by TOURISM. Without attractions, you have no tourism, hence fewer jobs and less income for the city. Are you the one paying the 13% hotel tax...no. I don't gripe about it because it goes with the territory. The bottom line is people like me coming from Porter County, and people from across the country, and around the world are coming to Indianapolis, and paying these taxes without complaint and making your city better. They come and they pay because the facilities are there. So you have to pay a little more in taxes than everyone else. You have a beautiful city with world class facilities to show for it. Quit being a martyr, and be proud of what the local government has done. When I came to Indianapolis for my first Colts game in 95 the downtown was a s***hole. There was a huge block of abandoned buildings where Conseco is now, and many of the others were falling apart. Now you have a wonderful downtown area with world class facilities, and five star hotels. There are a lot of people who benefit from what has happened in the downtown area in the last 15 years. If you are not one of them, sorry. I am sure there are thousands of others who do benefit, and greatly appreciate the Colts, the Pacers, The Indians, and the Convention Center.

 

[Ogre]

No, they should just keep the same prices, instead of raping people because there is a "special event" downtown. Some of these companies get a government handout, tax break, whatever, and they seem to need to charge $15 or $20 on a special event night when any other night it is $1.50 at the mall garages up to $7 at the other garages.

What? A property owner who shelled out the cash to buy a hunk of prime real estate and pave it, can't charge whatever people will pay him??? It is rediculously expensive to park for events (whether you are downtown for the event or not), but just as it's their right to charge what they want, it's our right to park 10 or 15 blocks away and walk our happy asses to the venue? If you want to get pissed at something, then get pissed at the city or county (?) that bags all the parking meters in a 5 block radius of the venue for the whole weekend of an event. Remember, street parking after 1800, on holidays and weekends is free (unless the buttholes bag the meters)>>>