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Convention faithful are sticking it out: Trade groups say perks outweigh construction hassle

The Indiana Convention Center isn’t big enough for some large trade shows, but Indianapolis’ location and hospitality are enough to keep certain customers coming back. Despite losing locally based Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association’s CEDIA Expo and California-based Performance Racing Industry’s annual show-and the estimated $45 million attendees spent each year-Indianapolis has managed to keep three other biggies. Do it Best Corp.’s twice-yearly trade show, Advanstar Communications’ Dealer Expo and the Fire Department Instructors Conference are sticking around because…

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SPORTS: Indiana’s finest embark on the trip of a lifetime

On Sept. 25, the NCAA’s Hall of Champions was a hall filled with champions. Yes, former Carmel basketball state champion, Purdue bowl champion and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Mark Herrmann was there. So were Justin Snow and a couple of his teammates from the Super Bowl champion Colts. But the champs on this day were athletes such as Sam McNew from Noblesville, Jessica Crook from Logansport, Mitch Johnson from Muncie, Danielle Burgin from Jeffersonville, and Shane Talbert from Attica. Later, at…

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SPORTS: Sadly, loyalists come to the aid of a Patriot cheater

Undoubtedly, he was caught up in his “Win-One-For-The-Gipper” moment when New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said of Bill Belichick, “We play for probably the best coach in the history of the NFL.” We’ll set aside for a moment whether Belichick can be placed above the likes of Vince Lombardi, George Halas, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Joe Gibbs or Don Shula, just to name several. And we’ll forget that Belichick wasn’t so great a coach in Cleveland, where he was…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: It’s OK for philanthropic motivations to be a little selfish

It probably goes without saying that New Yorkers can be, well, a bit difficult. As a fund-raiser for a NYC-based not-forprofit for many years, I encountered my fair share of these folks, which is one reason why I really looked forward to coming back to my home state of Indiana. Having grown up in Indiana, I knew of the kindness and generosity shown to me by neighbors, teachers-even complete strangers-but I’d never lived and worked here as an adult. More…

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IRL drops green flag on revenue-sharing plan: Series places no limits on number of teams eligible

The Indy Racing League is going where only stick-and-ball sports have gone before: revenue sharing. In a concept unique to motorsports, IRL officials have floated a plan that will guarantee teams about $1.3 million from series coffers for each car entered full time in the 16-race series. The change means the IRL could pay out $36 million to teams in 2008, $10 million more than it did through prize purses this year. Industry experts think revenue generated by the newly…

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City paves way to redevelop Bush Stadium site

Indianapolis has initiated the redevelopment process for Bush Stadium, its shuttered sports landmark. The Metropolitan Development
Commission has hired a pair of local firms for $25,000 to appraise historic Bush Stadium–a first step toward reuse or, more
likely, at least partial demolition.

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SPORTS: What are these ‘professionals’ thinking? They’re not

An open letter to the Indiana Pacers Shawne Williams (boy, are these open letters to Pacers fun): My first question, Shawne: What were you thinking? But then, it’s obvious you weren’t thinking or, if you were, it was only about yourself and not the team or town Here’s something else that probably hasn’t occurred to you: Because of you, the highly respected Donnie Walsh and one of the greatest to ever put on a basketball uniform, Larry Bird, are being…

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Indians reverse attendance slide: 10-percent increase could lead to seven-figure profit

The Indianapolis Indians this year scored the second-highest-percentage attendance increase in the 14-team International League. The spike could push the team’s profit over $1 million. The AAA farm team for Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates scored a 10-percent increase in attendance. The Indians drew 8,383 per game, up from 7,608 in 2006. While attendance for all minor-league baseball teams was up 2.2 percent, the Indians’ ability to beat that trend in a crowded sports market is a testament to the…

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SPORTS: Feel-good sports stories are out there-just look

No question about it, the feel-good that sport can create has taken a beating this summer. There was Barry Bonds breaking the Major League homerun record under the strong suspicion of steroid use, NFL star Michael Vick’s guilty plea on federal dogfighting charges, the betting scandal involving NBA referee Tim Donaghy, and the revelation of match-fixing in professional tennis. Just to name a few. It could really get you down if you let it. Yet, I’ve written this before-sport provides…

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SURF THIS: Selling Bonds online-the baseball kind, anyway

Would you sell a piece of history? Let’s just say, for the purposes of this discussion, that you were in possession of a piece of history with a generally healthy market value-an 1884 Carson City $20 gold coin, for example. written notes from the Gettysburg Address. Or, say, the baseball that Barry Bonds hit to break Hank Aaron’s homerun record. Would you sell it? I wondered about this recently when I read that Matt Murphy, the fan who caught the…

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SPORTS: Lynch isn’t Hep, but he’s a coach you can root for

I recall being on the football field at Ball State University in November of 1996, moments after the Cardinals had clinched the Mid-American Conference championship. The head coach, Bill Lynch, was exceedingly thrilled, as you might expect. But he also was exceedingly humble, deflecting the credit and making sure the spotlight was focused not on him, but on his players. Fast forward to 1999, when Ball State was in the throes of a losing streak that was to reach 21…

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Big Ten battles for TV sports bonanza

The new Big Ten Network and some of the nation’s largest cable television systems are fighting over how consumers will be charged for the network’s programming. Hundreds of sporting events could be blacked out in local markets, including scores of Indiana and Purdue university football and basketball games, if the two sides don’t reach an agreement.

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SPORTS: Killing animals for sport isn’t right-or uncommon

On an August afternoon in 1992, while covering the Olympic Games in Barcelona for the local daily, several of us decided we needed to experience a slice of authentic Spanish culture. So we journeyed to a bullfight. I could offer a lengthy narrative, but I’ll provide the abridged version. The bulls are lanced several times by men on horseback. The subsequent loss of blood weakens the animals … slowly and agonizingly. Then the matador arrives with a sword and completes…

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New ventures expanding school sports coverage: Players large and small converge on growing niche

High school sports coverage, once found only in the back pages of local newspapers’ sports sections, is now spawning new Internet and print businesses. The players involved range from large public companies and professional sports franchises to small entrepreneurs. The effort to score with high school sports coverage appears to be driven by a growing number of advertisers interested in the diverse audience attracted to scholastic events. In recent months, High School Sports The Magazine debuted in central Indiana, Emmis…

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IN THIS ISSUE:

I N T H I S I S S U E FOCUS:Insurance&BenefitsQuarterly19-24 Employerslooktohealthsavingsaccountsforpremiumrelief19 OneAmericaingoodpositiontogrowthroughacquisition19 NOTSTRICTLYBUSINESS45-47 15 A&EbyLouHarry:FringecharacterspopulateaFringeFilmhighlight45 Dining:FritesatBruggeBrasserie45 FunnyBusinessbyMikeRedmond:TheWorldofTomorrowhovers,preparestoland46 SportsbyBillBenner:Plentytochewonforsportsfansofeverystripe47 PERIMETER15-18 HendricksCounty:Brownsburgluresdrag-racingfirms15 45 BehindtheNews:Andrews4OPINION & EDITORIAL HowmortgagemeltdownsankOakStreet,Commentary:ChrisKatterjohn10othersIBJ’sEnterpriseAwardhits25 EconomicAnalysis:Barkey28AEditorial10 PartingthoughtsonIndiana’sstrengths,Dunnexitshowsboarddoingjobweaknesses EyeonthePie:Marcus11ClassifiedsandInternetDirectory34-35LifegoesondespitepropertytaxesPeople18Viewpoint:DeborahJ.Daniels11ReturnonTechnology:Altom32Helpingex-offendershelpsallofusSavingprinterpaperdoesn’tsavemuchmoneyRECORDS SmallBusinessProfile40Calendar33FundRaising41It’sadog’slifeConventions33InRecognition41 LISTS LargestIndianapolis-AreaRetirementSTOCKS Communities26Investing:Hauke28LargestIndianapolis-AreaAssisted-LivingDominoeffectworsenedwoesinsubprimeFacilities37market ProxyCorner:IrwinFinancialCorp.31 COMPANY INDEX This index does not include companies mentioned in letters to the editor, lists, charts and records. The page numbers listed refer to the pages where articles begin. 3S Karting Supply ………………17 Conseco Inc……………………….30 Interactive Intelligence Inc……10 Precedent Commercial 96th Street Steakburgers……….1 Crowe Chizek…

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Colts build reputation for mastering salary cap

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.

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SPORTS: Plenty to chew on for sports fans of every stripe

You leave town for a little vacation, but that doesn’t mean the world of sports is going to stop spitting out news. Therefore, thoughts about this, that and the other while I was away: News item: Barry Bonds breaks Henry Aaron’s home run record. Thought: Yawn. I ceased to care long ago. Major League Baseball has gotten what it deserved for ignoring the steroid issue for so long. News item: Tiger Woods wins his fourth PGA Championship, his second in…

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An update on three women-owned startups: Innovative ideas lead to business expansion

Invoke In addition to the yoga and pilates classes offered at Invoke, owner Amy Peddycord has added clothing from Lululemon, a popular Canadian apparel brand. She also has established a relationship with Santa Monica, Calif.-based Yoga Works, which has 14 studios throughout California and New York. Yoga Works will lead a teacher training program at Invoke in 2008. Peddycord says hiring an office manager in 2006 was the best thing she’s done. “Nicole [Schoville] quickly grew into the role and…

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SPORTS: Star athletes say the craziest things (or do they?)

Ah, another day, and another kick in the teeth for the Indiana Pacers. Back to the oral surgeon. The kind word for the Pacers’ Jermaine O’Neal would be disingenuous. Either that, or it’s a gaggle of reporters whom O’Neal wants us to believe either fictionalized or took several quotes “out of context”-don’t you love that fallback phrase?-last weekend in Los Angeles, where O’Neal said (or didn’t say) he wanted to be traded to the Lakers and was critical of Pacers’…

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PROFILE THERESIA WHITFIELD: Changing direction after life-altering crisis Former CNN producer follows path to healing, new career after overcoming post-traumatic stress

Whitfield, owner of Indianapolis-based Fletcher Communications Inc., was a freelance television news producer working for CNN, Reuters News and the Christian Broadcasting Network’s news division in Washington, D.C., when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. Four years later, Whitfield crashed emotionally and was hospitalized suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. The daughter of a retired Army officer, Whitfield, 39, had moved many times as a child before settling in Columbia, S.C. She graduated from high school in 1986, but…

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