Emboldened by the deal he signed to put his company’s name on the Indianapolis Colts’ new home, Forrest Lucas has launched
an arsenal of creative-some would say unorthodox-initiatives to fortify his growing company. Many of them are designed to
help Lucas Oil Products Inc. go head to head with the oil industry’s biggest players.
Officials for Lucas Oil Products Inc. are imploring fans and media not to refer to the team’s new stadium as The Luke,
a nickname that has cropped up on sports talk radio shows and been repeated in print and on TV. The nickname
seems to be gaining momentum, and that doesn’t sit well with Lucas brass already playing defense against
New Jersey-based Lukoil Co. California based-Lucas Oil signed a 20-year, $121.5 million naming-rights deal
for the Colts’ new stadium.
Cleaning crews are wiping construction dust from the 63,000 seats in Lucas Oil Stadium, prepping for the public’s first peek at the $720 million venue Aug. 16. But the hard work is only beginning for the city’s Capital Improvement Board, the entity charged with operating the stadium. The fumbling point: CIB is anticipating a $20 million operating deficit for Lucas Oil Stadium in 2009.
Beyond his last name, little is known here about Indianapolis Colts Vice President of Football Operations Chris Polian–even
though it’s likely he represents the future of the franchise. In National Football League circles, Polian’s stock has skyrocketed
as league owners have realized there’s more to the 36-year-old than his famous last name.
In a meeting that had more X’s and O’s than Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy’s game-day war room, FedEx District Sales
Manager Doug Knowles and his lieutenants decided which clients and prospective clients would be invited to the FedEx suite
which game, which FedEx employees would accompany them, and what ancillary activities would be planned.
The Indianapolis Colts lost a slew of popular players in the off-season who were key to the team’s Super Bowl run. The defections–though
unusual for a championship team–were business as usual for a franchise that has gained a reputation around the league for
its bold personnel moves.
A new National Football League policy could cost the Indianapolis Colts $56 million in league revenue sharing in the decade
following the opening of Lucas Oil Stadium. The policy
puts more pressure on the Colts to compete with revenue-generating giants such as the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys.
With a season-ticket waiting list of more than 13,000–and growing by the hour–the Indianapolis Colts marketing team can
settle into cruise control, right? Owner Jim Irsay thinks not.
Bill Polian, the multi-sport schoolboy athlete from the Bronx, never had the advantage of an inside track. So he broke into
the National Football League the only way he knew how: by outworking and outsmarting the competition. By all accounts, Polian,
64 and now president of the Indianapolis Colts, is still at it.
If the Indianapolis Colts win the Super Bowl Feb. 4, team owner Jim Irsay will be going deep into his pocket. Contrary to
popular belief, winning the Super Bowl is not a huge financial windfall–at least not in the near term for the team and its
owner.
Super Bowl XLI has become a can’t-miss event for dozens of local business executives and government honchos, who are shelling
out several thousand dollars apiece to watch the Feb. 4 game in person.
Being an Indianapolis Colts fan doesn’t mean you will necessarily succeed at running a Colts-themed restaurant, but Blue Crew
Sports Grill owners Randy Collins, Dan Dilbeck and Everett Myers aren’t ordinary fans. They are three pillars on which one
of the National Football League’s biggest fan clubs has been built.
The stiff competition facing Indianapolis’ bid for the 2011 Super Bowl just got stiffer. Besides Glendale, Ariz., and Dallas, New Orleans officials have told NFL officials and team owners they want to host the championship game again as part of the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
The Indianapolis Colts are giving sponsors a chance to help design the interior of Lucas Oil Stadium. The newly announced sponsorship packages, which parcel out naming and design rights for 12 parts of the stadium, are expected to generate up to $10 million a year for the franchise.
The Indianapolis Colts' evolution from perennial patsy to Super Bowl favorite is a body of work with a seldom-told—and often misunderstood—history. It's easy to see the hues all-pros Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James painted on this masterpiece season. President Bill Polian and Coach Tony Dungy certainly colored the landscape. And Offensive Coordinator Tom Moore added his creativity. But theirs aren't the only signatures on this canvas.
