Superbowl 2012 will be in Indianapolis!

We won the bid! NFL owners have chosen Indianapolis to host the 2012 Super Bowl. The 32 team owners meeting here today picked Indianapolis over Houston and Phoenix, which hosted the 2004 and 2008 Super Bowls, respectively. Indianapolis officials had gone to great lengths to secure the 25,000 hotel rooms required by league bid specifications. They also hammered home the city’s strengths, including downtown connectivity and history of hosting big events, from the 1987 Pan Am Games to the Indianapolis 500 and NCAA men’s basketball Final Fours. Indianapolis also came up with $25 million in corporate and individual support to fund various Super Bowl operations, including event hosting, transportation and building a practice facility. NFL sources said Indianapolis has more money secured to host the 2012 Super Bowl than either Phoenix or Houston. In the end, those strengths — along with the rising clout of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay among his peers — carried the day. The score will be no small prize for the city. Sports economists estimate that more than 250,000 visitors will descend on Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI, with the game carrying a $300 million to $400 million economic impact. Whoo hoo!