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There's a lot to remember about Super Bowl XLII: The Patriots falling two minutes short of perfection, the upstart Giants earning a victory with a ferocious pass rush and amazing plays like David Tyree's "helmet catch" to convert a critical third down late in the fourth quarter.

But if Indianapolis pursues and wins the Super Bowl in 2012, we'll remember this year's game in Phoenix not as the end of another great NFL season, but as a key milestone in our region's run towards another major economic triumph.

I've seen Super Bowls as a visitor and a resident of the host city (living in Jacksonville in 2005), and attending the NFL briefings in Arizona confirmed my belief that the game provides an excellent return on investment for the community. As we explore our opportunity to host the 2012 Super Bowl, the economic case is compelling.

The benefits of hosting a Super Bowl begin with the direct economic activity generated by the game itself - spending by visitors. Over the last ten years, direct spending has only dipped below $120 million once, and has often topped $140 million. Miami saw $195 million in direct impact from its 2007 Super Bowl.

But direct spending is just the beginning - economists estimate that 'indirect investment' can more than double the overall economic impact for the host region. This would include additional wages generated for local workers that are then re-invested in the economy, as well as profits for local suppliers and other businesses. This multiplier effect brings the total economic impact of a Super Bowl to $300 million or more. Initiatives like the NFL's Emerging Business Program also help provide minority and women-owned firms with Super Bowl contract opportunities that strengthen the local business community.

Some experts dispute these estimates as artificially inflated, arguing that Super Bowl visitors displace tourism activity and local spending that would otherwise be taking place throughout February. This point may carry some weight in markets like Miami, where the tourism sector is strong year-round, Super Bowl or not. But while Indianapolis has a healthy hospitality industry, there would be little argument that hosting a Super Bowl would bring primarily new dollars to the region.

On the cost side of the equation, the bulk of the expenses for the Super Bowl and related events are funded by private sector contributions - in Indianapolis, the corporate community came forward with $25 million in pledges for city's 2011 bid, and early indications are that this level of commitment continues to exist for a 2012 attempt. Completing this fundraising early puts Indianapolis in an enviable position.

There may be concerns that this corporate support may divert resources from other local philanthropic priorities. As part of our due diligence, I've spoken with a number of our community's not-for-profit leaders, and a bid is generally well-supported. For example, the senior leadership of the United Way of Central Indiana indicated that despite the successful effort to secure pledges for the 2011 Super Bowl, 2007 ranked as the United Way's best fundraising year in recent history. Keeping in mind that corporate commitments will be spread over the five years leading up to the 2012 game, we would anticipate a minimal impact to the efforts of other local non-profits.

Public safety and security are the only major direct costs to the City itself. While we're still assessing these expenses, past experience tells us that they will be repaid several times over by the additional sales tax and other revenues generated by visitors during Super Bowl week alone.

So from a strictly short-term economic analysis, the case for pursuing the Super Bowl is overwhelming. But once again, the numbers only tell part of the story.

The Super Bowl would also showcase the Indianapolis region to the hundreds of millions of viewers across the globe and to the corporate sponsors and other business leaders who attend the game. This would represent a significant boon to our economic development efforts, as we work to attract new talent and business opportunities to the region. Many of our competitor regions can afford aggressive mass media campaigns to promote themselves - Central Indiana simply hasn't been able to muster the financial resources for such an effort.

The publicity from a Super Bowl would carry an even greater impact. It would truly open the eyes of the world to the amazing progress and billions of dollars in investment we've made in our city and our region over the last three decades, and to the fact that Indianapolis is a great place to live!

Along with Mayor Ballard, Governor Daniels and the rest of our team, I believe that Indianapolis is a Super Bowl city - we have the infrastructure, the experience with major events, the corporate support and civic spirit to make it happen. We also have a reservoir of goodwill with the NFL - the Colts are among the league's most respected franchises, and a margin of just two votes separated us from winning the 2011 bid.

There are many issues we've explored as part of our due diligence, and we're days away from a final decision on pursuing the game.but one thing is clear - winning the Super Bowl sweepstakes would be an unqualified economic victory for our region.