For Indianapolis, the benefits of hosting the 2012 Super Bowl go on and on: More than $120 million in direct economic investment, invaluable worldwide media exposure, and the opportunity to showcase the city to business leaders and other VIPs from across the globe, to name just a few. But for organizers of Indianapolis’ Super Bowl bid, this was not enough – the plan needed to include a lasting civic legacy that would leave an impact far beyond game week.

The Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee’s leadership found a worthy partner on the city’s Near Eastside, where a coalition of neighborhood groups had come together under the auspices of the Great Indianapolis Neighborhoods Initiative (GINI) and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to create a comprehensive quality of life plan with input from neighborhood residents. Consisting of close to 35,000 residents, the Near Eastside has been plagued by some of the highest rates of home foreclosure and abandonment in the country throughout this decade. As businesses have closed, crime rates have risen, graduation rates and school test scores have fallen dramatically.

The Host Committee decided to designate portions of the Near Eastside Quality of Life Plan as the 2012 Super Bowl Legacy Project working collaboratively on the community’s revitalization strategy.

Each component of the Legacy Project is chaired by a representative of the Near Eastside neighborhood and a representative of the broader community. The four committees are: Near Eastside Education and Wellness Center; Housing; Business and Economic Development; and Special Events and Promotions.

In 2008, a Quality of Life Plan was created for the Near Eastside through the Great Indianapolis Neighborhoods Initiative (GINI) and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) with input from residents. This plan identified seven (7) action areas for the Near Eastside:

• Housing Redevelopment
• Economic and Business Redevelopment
• Education
• Family Strengthening
• Livability
• Neighborhood Connections
• Public Safety

Four key groups play a critical role in implementing the plan and sustaining these efforts:

The John H. Boner Community Center - the area’s comprehensive community center serving as the lead organizer for the 2012 Super Bowl Legacy Project as well as the convening organization for the Great Indy Neighborhoods Initiative Quality of Life planning process on the Near Eastside

Near Eastside Community Organization (NESCO) - an umbrella organization for the neighborhoods of the Near Eastside and its committees

Indy-east Asset Development (I-AD) - the Near Eastside community development corporation working to catalyze housing and real estate development on the Near Eastside

The East 10th Street Civic Association - the lead agency responsible for the commercial components of the 2012 Super Bowl Legacy Project

Other lead partners include:

• Arsenal Technical High School
• Brookside Church
• Centenary Church
• Community Addiction Services, Inc.
• Community Choice Federal Credit Union
• Community Hospital Foundation
• Emerson Avenue Corridor Gateway Steering Committee
• Englewood CDC
• Englewood Church
• Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center
• Indianapolis Public Schools
• Indy Parks and Recreation
• Partners in Housing
• People’s Health Center
• Rebuilding Together Indianapolis
• Relmagine Neighborhoods
• Riley Area Development
• St. Philip Neri