How Will Indianapolis Handle Super Bowl XLVI

Sunday's Super Bowl XLV in Dallas was marked for an exciting game, botched musical performances, historic television ratings ... and epic winter weather. The Dallas area was hit hard by the storms that trampled about two-thirds of the nation, and Super Bowl visitors suffered the consequences. Roadways were snarled, toes and noses were frozen, and workers were injured as ice and snow fell from the stadium roof. A year from now, Indianapolis will be hosting Super Bowl XLVI, and you just know the focus will be on the weather again, particularly if the teams involved aren't quite as compelling as the Packers-Steelers matchup this year. Of course, we still have the little matter of a possible work stoppage before the masses roll into Indy. Given all that, here are some key points in determining how successful our shining moment will be.

• Indiana is very accustomed to cold and snowy weather. We'll have a much better handle on the road conditions than Dallas did.
• Indianapolis is a very simple city to navigate, with just one metro area and a basic grid system downtown. By contrast, "Dallas," for the purposes of the Super Bowl, is actually Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, and it's hard to get from here to there thanks to more complicated highway systems and simple distance considerations. Navigation *should* be easier in Indy.
• On the other hand Indianapolis is very small compared to the Metroplex, so we're all going to be very "cozy" next year, and it's pretty likely that downtown will be a complete parking lot during Super Bowl week, particularly if the weather turns hairy.
• Helping with this somewhat is that just about everything downtown is interconnected and accessible via indoor walkways.
• But there isn't really that much to do in Indy. Think A-Rod and Cameron Diaz will be stoked to go to Circle Centre Mall or the Indiana State Museum? Not a lot of great restaurants, either.
• If we get, say, the Atlanta Falcons v. the San Diego Chargers, we can forget about a ratings bonanza, and the focus will be even greater on the weather and what Indianapolis does or does not offer as a venue.
• Will the planners stick to our Indiana roots or eschew them? Even big events in Indy tend to grasp onto some Hoosier traditions, so it will be interesting to see how many cornhole tournaments turn up on the Lucas Oil terrace. Mellencamp at halftime? Too much cow-town content and we'll be Jacksonville II.
• If there is a short work stoppage, any hard feelings will likely have subsided by February.
• If there is an extended stoppage, there could be a hangover effect that cuts into Indy's pie.
• If there is a season-cancelling stoppage, then the last two years have just been a fun exercise.

The success of Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis will go a long way toward determining the Circle City's future as a big-time sports venue, and may have more far-reaching consequences than that. The Indianapolis Star recently started a series looking at where the city might be headed beyond the Super Bowl. For now, it's a partially written story that should be fascinating to watch unfold.