The boos that rained down on Andrew Luck—and possibly the entire Indianapolis Colts organization after the Aug. 24 preseason home game—signal a torrent of likely troubles for a team that started this season with Super Bowl aspirations.
You wonder if this is a big bay window into the cost of playing modern football. Luck called it the greatest team sport in the world, but the physical demands of the game had apparently chewed him up and spit him out.
This is the second year the camp has been held in Westfield, under a 10-year deal with the city struck in 2017.
In central Indiana, 83,700 fewer households on average tuned into Colts games this season compared to the team’s previous campaign. The decline came as NFL viewership overall took a significant hit.
The Indianapolis Colts recently signed a three-year deal with New York-based Wine By Design to make a series of commemorative Colts wines, with bottles priced at up to $400 apiece.
Based on conversations he’s had with Peyton Manning, former Colts head coach Tony Dungy says the former All-Pro quarterback is bound to become an NFL executive. And Dungy said he’d consider working for him.
Through the first six weeks of the NFL season, the league has seen overall viewership decline 7.5 percent. For the Colts, it’s much, much worse.
Central Indiana residents prefer pro football and Indy’s franchise to all other leagues and teams by a wide margin, according to the study. But its author says recent protests by players around the league could put a dent in their popularity.
A national brokerage says Colts home-game seats are the lowest-priced on the secondary market of any NFL team. Local brokers say some tickets are selling well below face value.
The team insists its big push isn’t driven by the persistent injury to star quarterback Andrew Luck or the fact that tickets are still available for six of eight home games.
Indianapolis Colts officials expect to fill Lucas Oil Stadium for every regular season game this year. But area ticket brokers say the market for Colts tickets is very soft.
The Indianapolis Colts are saying so long to one of their most valuable members. No, Andrew Luck is not retiring. But the all-star quarterback will no doubt feel the impact of the change.
Intel has agreed to pay the city’s Capital Improvement Board close to $110,000 so it can install 3-D cameras and sell 360-degree replays to broadcasters. But the video won’t be played inside the stadium.
The average ticket price on the secondary market for Colts games has taken a double-digit percentage dip as questions linger about the upcoming season.
The Colts’ former kicker poked fun at the team’s former general manager on Monday. Meanwhile, IndyCar officials hope to make inroads in China and Mexico.
Indiana Sports Corp. and Visit Indy officials did their due diligence at the last two NFL drafts in Chicago and Philadelphia and are pondering pitching an outdoor site for the event.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Fever signs a deal with a local marketing firm to build on the team’s strong sales in 2016, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway educates its fans on organ donation.
The home and away games in the preseason have been arranged such that local fans are unlikely to see much of Andrew Luck or the other starters in Lucas Oil Stadium before the regular season.
The German shoe and sports apparel maker is offering surf and turf for any player who runs the fastest 40-yard dash in NFL Scouting Combine history. Players will make the dash this week at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Ticket-buying fans of the Indianapolis Colts pay less than fans cheering for 20 other NFL teams—and a whole lot less than the Chicago Bears.
