Home » Sports Business

Sports Business

Articles

Coastal is in the name, central Indiana is its game: California-based firm cultivating its local operations

Despite its name, Coastal Partners LLC is firmly entrenched in the heartland. Most of its current projects are in central Indiana, as are about half its employees. In August, the Sacramento-based firm hired Tom Ott to oversee its central Indiana operations and new development. Ott, a respected 10-year veteran of the local office of Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis, plans to continue his relationships in the local brokerage community to further Coastal Partners’ presence in the area. Although the name…

Read More

SPORTS: Hoop paths of Indiana and Lithuania finally cross

In the small republic by the Baltic Sea-population 3.4 million-many youngsters grow up dreaming the same kinds of hoop dreams young Hoosiers do. “Basketball in Lithuania is even crazier,” Jasikevicius, a 6-foot-4-inch guard, said recently at Conseco Fieldhouse, moments after finishing his first official practice as a Pacer. “We always call it our second religion.” During the 50 years Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union, players from the republic were the nucleus of the USSR national teams. It was…

Read More

Pacers’ new game plan: polish team persona: NBA squads must comply with tough conduct rules

Almost a year removed from the infamous brawl in Detroit, the Indiana Pacers are ready to put their best foot forward. And they’re getting a hand-or more like a foot in the backside-from NBA Commissioner David Stern. Stern on Sept. 28 handed down new league dress code and conduct rules aimed at brightening the image of players and making them more accessible to fans, community groups and media outlets. The rules-which require players to wear sport coats, collared shirts and…

Read More

SPORTS: Why big-league baseball has become bush league

The Great American Pastime is past my time. I’ve pretty much ceased to care about Major League Baseball. Note that I said “major league.” I remain very much a fan of the Indianapolis Indians and the experience to be had in the country’s very best minor-league ballpark, Victory Field. I do know, albeit casually, that going into the last week of the regular season, there was considerable sorting out to be done before playoff participants could be determined, that the…

Read More

Speaking of health care: Local experts weigh in on rising costs, the uninsured and whether our current system needs an overhaul Public health priorities, executive salaries and the “gold rush” of health care construction were among the topics tackled Sept

Public health priorities, executive salaries and the “gold rush” of health care construction were among the topics tackled Sept. 21 in the latest installment of Indianapolis Business Journal’s Power Breakfast Series. IBJ reporter Tom Murphy moderated the panel discussion, attended by some of the area’s foremost health care experts. Following is an edited transcript of the often-spirited discussion, which included a brief interruption by protestors seeking medical insurance coverage for janitorial staff who clean Anthem Inc. buildings. IBJ: Can you…

Read More

Texas group roaring for Indians stock: Lion Fund dangles 40-percent premium for ballclub’s shares

A San Antonio-based hedge fund’s public solicitation of Indianapolis Indians stock is akin to a hostile takeover attempt, industry observers said. It also brings into question the succession plan of the Indians’ 72-year-old chairman, Max Schumacher, who owns 39 percent of the company’s stock. While officials for The Lion Fund LP said they aren’t looking to take majority control of the city’s AAA baseball franchise, they’re willing to pay a substantial premium over the Indians’ last buyback offer of $9,200…

Read More

Hip-deep in endorsements: Sony, Kraft deals help Manning reign as NFL advertising king

With three newly inked endorsement deals, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is scoring faster and more often with corporate America than any other National Football League player, according to his handlers at Cleveland-based IMG Worldwide. But Manning’s endorsement success hasn’t played out as fast as one of his famous twominute drills. Since entering the league sevenplus years ago, Manning and IMG have followed a carefully diagrammed blueprint to build first a local platform through deals with St. Vincent Health and…

Read More

SPORTS: New stadium part of strategy born here decades ago

The circumstance finally gave way to pomp last week. And as the silver shovels glistened in a setting sun at the Indiana Stadium ground breaking, a new day dawned for Indianapolis and central Indiana. Similarly, the multipurpose stadium-sorry, but I refuse to call it the “Colts Stadium” when its benefits will be so vast and its uses so varied-represents both an end and a beginning. In some ways, it is the final piece of a puzzle that began to be…

Read More

IRL teams may have to cut staff or broaden horizons: Mechanics could feel biggest impact of shorter season

The 2006 Indy Racing League schedule-which is two months shorter and has three fewer races than 2005-has teams considering either cutting staff or expanding into other race series to fill the void. “You hate to make any staff cuts, but that’s one question facing all the [IRL] teams,” said Doug Boles, chief operating officer for locally based Panther Racing. “This is a very competitive industry and to keep your good people, you want to keep them employed year-round.” But with…

Read More

Indians stock price belted into upper deck: AAA baseball franchise hits $21,000 per share

Despite the meteoric rise of the Indianapolis Indians’ stock price, some industry analysts think the minor-league baseball franchise is still undervalued. In August, three shares of the thinly traded public company sold for $21,000 each and another share sold for $19,500. The $21,000 share price-with 800 shares outstanding-puts a $16.8 million value on the AAA team. That’s leagues ahead of the $8.3 million it was valued at during a stock buyback initiated by the franchise in 2002. “A value for…

Read More

Selective Seconds: Consignment stores’ owner proud to be picky High-end items are the stock of choice at Selective Seconds

Vena Holden is picky about the seconds in her shops, specializing in better brand-name clothing, accessories, linens, gifts and shoes. She makes clear that hers is not a used clothing store. “We look for the higher-end items and are selective in what we take,” said Holden, 45, who founded the appropriately named Selective Seconds after years of shopping consignment shops for herself when she worked as a legal secretary and office manager for local law firm Plews Shadley Racher and…

Read More

SPORTS: IU getting it right where tailgating is concerned

My alma mater, Indiana University, has taken its share of licks in recent times. In fact, I’ve used this space to throw some of the punches. But its recent decision-coinciding with the start of football season-to try to oust the party animals from the jungle just south of Memorial Stadium on game days was prudent, correct and too long in coming. This, folks, has been a human and legal calamity waiting to happen. The “jungle” is a park-like area across…

Read More

VIEWPOINT: We all pay the price of homelessness

“The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.” -Hubert H. Humphrey The most recent sessions of the Indiana General Assembly and the U.S. Congress have focused significant efforts on addressing the needs of children through education and the elderly through prescription drug…

Read More

Private high school set: Cristo Rey to open downtown with 46 companies behind it

A private high school that relies on business participation, the first of its kind in Indiana, is set to open downtown in the fall of 2006. A work-study program designed to help lowincome students pay for tuition and give them corporate work experience is what will set Providence Cristo Rey High School apart from its private and public counterparts throughout the state. Corporate sponsors said it will also give promising students a local business connection, which could help keep them…

Read More

TOM HARTON Commentary: Where business, disaster meet

We don’t do weather. Business newspapers don’t ask reporters to stand in bitter cold to demonstrate that it’s uncomfortable. We don’t warn our readers about the dangers of a storm by assigning a reporter to stand in the middle of one. When the wind and rain send things crashing down around us, we become consumers of news just like everyone else. Last week, we broke our rule. No, we didn’t brave the elements, but what happened in New Orleans and…

Read More

GERALD BEPKO Commentary: FFA is important to our future

What major, national, student-oriented not-for-profit organization with deep roots in Kansas City moved its headquarters to Indianapolis in the last decade and now has made commitments to bring a huge number of visitors to Indianapolis each year into the future? If you think the answer is the NCAA, you would be half right. The complete answer is that there are two such organizations: the NCAA and FFA. Both the NCAA and FFA brought economic benefits along with their headquarters. Through…

Read More

Final 4 lodging scarce: 7 months before event, brokers lock up rooms

Basketball fans hoping to catch the action at next spring’s NCAA men’s Final Four in Indianapolis are more likely to score decent tickets than they are a downtown hotel room, though neither will come cheap. As the event has moved from fan-centric to corporate, the demand and price for hotel rooms has reached new highs. And the hotel room supply for Final Fours held locally is likely to tighten as NCAA officials push for larger Final Four venues-such as the…

Read More

SPORTS: City should be tour stop for men’s or women’s golf

That sellout crowds flocked to Carmel’s Crooked Stick Golf Club for the Solheim Cup should come as no surprise. This is an area with a big appetite for golf, whether playing or watching it. Yet it’s also a reminder that for all we have accomplished in spectator sports, professional golf remains the hole in our doughnut. Yes, we have had our on-and-off forays into the arena. A PGA Tour stop, the 500 Festival Open, took place on the old Speedway…

Read More

SPORTS: Championship contenders bring out Mr. Softee

My friend, the young radio sports talk show host, tells me I’ve become Mister Softee. He says I have lost my edge. He wonders why I don’t rattle cages like I used to. He says the Indianapolis Colts have to win the Super Bowl this year, and anything less should be considered an abject failure. And I say, poppycock. He says winning a championship is the only measurement of success in professional sports. And I say, baloney. He says if…

Read More

Ancient sport of kings still appeals to Hoosiers: Hickory Hall Polo Club keeps game alive on Boone County farm

A handful of noisy chickens and a small herd of goats meander around two neatly kept barns that house about a dozen horses, their stalls overlooking the 10-acre field that’s 300 yards long and 160 yards wide. As horses emerge from their stalls with the help of the Chandlers’ assistant, it becomes clear these are no common steeds. Their deep chests heave with each breath, their nostrils sucking in air like a Hoover, ribs lightly protruding through their lean physiques….

Read More