Community Session a Big Success
March 12th, 2008 by Mark MilesIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Last night, we hosted a brainstorming session with members of the Indy Hub and Smaller Indiana - two groups that are trying to make Indianapolis a more hospitable place for talented people and new ideas. The Indy Hub (www.indyhub.org) is a network of young professionals that come together to explore social, professional development and philanthropic opportunities around town… Smaller Indiana (www.smallerindiana.com) is an online social network for Hoosiers interested in making new connections – for business, friendship and discussion of issues of the day.
Both organizations are home to lots of bright, creative people, and I was happy to gather 75 or so of them at the NCAA headquarters to talk about two topic
s in particular:
First, the “civic legacy:” As part of the Super Bowl bid specifications, the NFL expects the host committee to spearhead civic projects that leave a lasting legacy in the host city. These generally fall into two categories: The construction of a “Youth Education Town” - YET Center - managed by the Boys & Girls Club to serve disadvantaged kids, and other ‘quality of life’ initiatives that will benefit the community after the game has been played.
Indianapolis is prepared to build a YET Center, but wants to take the concept a step forward and explore new initiatives and programs (in education, human services, or arts/culture) that can benefit our community, especially our youth. In last year’s bid, we proposed a national center to combat childhood obesity and promote fitness (associated with NIFS at IUPUI)… is this still the best idea, or are there other concepts that would address a pressing issue or help make Indianapolis a better place to live and raise a family?
We also discussed the Super Bowl Village - a downtown area designated for an ongoing festival/celebration during Super Bowl week, providing a way to invite Hoosiers to join the party and create a focal point for festivities (in contrast to some host cities, where activities have been so spread out that it’s been difficult to create a real festival atmosphere – see my last post).
We asked questions like what activities (music, games, exhibits) should be included in the Village, how we can deal with the spectrum of possible weather conditions, and what can we do (in terms of lighting, gateways, promotional strategies) to make the Village a clearly marked destination?
The ideas on both topics came fast and furious - there were suggestions to cover the Village district with interconnecting tents (which could be used as part of the festivities, a la Fremont Street in Las Vegas), as well as hosting the NFL Saturday Night concert at Conseco Fieldhouse and simulcasting it to giant screens on Monument Circle. There were also several suggestions on incorporating environmental themes into the Super Bowl, such as exploring ways to make the game carbon-neutral.
We’re transcribing all of the notes from last night, and I’ll share more thoughts in another post. I want to thank Molly Chavers of Indy Hub and Pat Coyle of Smaller Indiana for being engaged in the process – Molly serves on our Community Advisory Council, and Pat is supporting our online efforts – and all of the folks who came out last night. And just as important, while these face-to-face events are a great way to brainstorm and gather input, remember that we have a 24/7 town hall meeting going on right here – please give us your comments and ideas on the civic legacy, the Village, and other areas through this site, so we can include them in our thinking.
Thanks again, and more to come…
Mark Miles
President & CEO of Central Indiana Community Partnership
ContactUs@OUR2012SB.com
After attending the Super Bowl Bid meeting Monday evening, I was challenged to think about one of the topics of discussion: the legacy that Indianapolis would incorporate into the bid package for the NFL owners. My understanding was that Indianapolis started by presenting the legacy of childhood fitness and obesity in the bid last year. The group was then encouraged to go beyond that and find something that would broaden this scope. My suggestion would be a state wide commitment to an all-encompassing wellness program that would supplement and expand the NFL’s initiative for children to exercise. Rising health care costs is an increasingly difficult problem that our country is facing. Starting with the children is a great first step but it only tackles half the issue. To truly leave a legacy, Indianapolis needs to target the schools and adult employment through businesses.
Here is my suggestion on how a wellness program could work. This is tailored primarily to businesses, but could easily be implemented in schools too. It starts with a wellness assessment which includes a paper form/survey, blood pressure tests, stress profile, dietary questions, etc. It measures the physical, psychological, and nutritional sides of people’s lives. From that point you would:
1. Get a number ranking that determines your individual program.
2. Twice per year a physician checks out your employees.
3. Program- monthly coaching on site, email updates and newsletters on trends/innovations, discounted one-on-one sessions, online support for meal planning, exercise, etc. It also could offer health club memberships and on-site studio programs like karate for a flat fee.
Problems- lack of incentive for employers to offer this to employees. No support from insurance companies or the government. Insurance companies may offer discounts on rates but you have to use their “wellness plan,” which isn’t as beneficial and is presented at a higher premium. We need to make this a priority and attractive offering for businesses to give to employees along with their medical, dental, and other benefits.
Other table ideas: Our table discussed ways in which the Super Bowl Village could be unique, alluring for the NFL, and exhilarating for fans. Here are some of the highlights:
1. Create a Vegas style atmosphere with covered streets and LED lightning. The idea being to create an “indoor,” feel for festivities while illuminating Indianapolis from above.
2. Have individual streets in the village be focused on different themes. One street could to dedicated to celebrating all 32 NFL teams with representatives, information, history, local cuisines, etc. Another street focused on the NFL and football itself. While another would celebrate Indiana.
3. The NFL has another initiative: the global expansion of the game. Perhaps invite key members from London. Mexico, etc to take a part in the festivities.
4. The Super Bowl Village and weekend should be catered to the kids and adults. Have a circus at Conseco, turn Victory Field into a winter snow park (sledding down the outfield), and having skating rinks are just a few of the ways to include the kids.
I would love to see Indy continue to tackle (pun intended) their health crisis…not just with adults like Gov. Daniels is doing with INShape, but with kids. There are about 20 programs for kids and health but they need to come together and work out something. Some of the community partners involved need to step up and bring this to the table.
I would like to see the Super Bowl fans, Corporate Sponsors, and international media extend there stays in our city and return to Indianapolis for our other cultural events, increasing the economic impact of this one time event on our community.
How about a unprecedented multi-million dollar packaged promotion of central Indiana to Super Bowl Sponsors, Corporate fans, and International media to come back for the Indy 500, Indy Jazz Festival, major Art Museum Showings, Summer Golf Packages, Wine Tours, State Fair, Indianapolis Zoo, State Parks, Circle City Classic, Final Four, Pacers Games, Indy Ice, Indianapolis Indians, etc….
Spend millions of dollars of the corporate donations and non profit in kind donations for this event on giving ALL 70,000+ Super Bowl ticket holders and international media FREE promotional tickets to all of these packaged events for future dates within the next 12 months in an effort to have repeat tourist business.
Giving one “Central Indiana Cultural Sampler Ticket” would give the big spenders a reason to come back to Indiana with their paying family and friends. The word of mouth marketing would be exponentially powerful combined with the international media exposure.
“Central Indiana Cultural Sampler Ticket” could be an extension of the White River State Park Pass
http://www.in.gov/whiteriver/about/parkpass.html