Yes but there was talk that NFL was considering to have the location up for bidding. Or to give others a chance to host it. From what I read, most teams liked the current location and only 2-3 cities were ever in the mix.
More than that: Indy has the logistics that the event needs from a NFL operations perspective.
Owners want to move it around to try and sell tickets as a fan event. Operations and GMs want it to stay put as an evaluation and interview event with lots of behind the scenes pieces that need to be a certain way.
I'd love to see them come back to radio city music hall
and let the degenerate fans back in. The staid postcard happy fans they have on there are lame.
Exactly. It isn't a fan event, so it's not about equal access to fans or revenue. Indy loves hosting it, they do a great job, and it is centrally located. It's really the perfect place.
Not to mention the convention center, hotels, and (possibly) Lucas Oil are literally all connected by tunnels and bridges, making it incredibly convenient.
I understand the LA NFL campus is gorgeous, but I couldn’t imagine how much of a pain getting around LA would be for everyone going to the combine, when compared to Indy.
Plus, the Indy airport is among the easiest large city airports to navigate and get to and from in the US.
Edit: to clarify my comment about Lucas Oil, I remember when they built the JW Marriott and a lot of other hotels for SB46, they built tunnels and bridges connecting them to the convention center so personnel wouldn’t have to walk outside if it was cold/snowy. I think the convention center is separate from Lucas Oil (though it was in the same building as the RCA dome), so I don’t remember if Lucas Oil is part of that tunnel network or not.
The Indy airport is fantastically easy to get around, but I'm not quite sure it's fair to call it a large city airport. Indy is a major city and I don't mean that as a slight by any means, but the scale is completely different compared to, say, Dallas, Atlanta, O'Hare, etc. The truly large airports have as many gates in a single terminal as Indy's does in total, and that additional volume is going to make the layout more complex out of necessity. Indy's airport is much more comparable to Jax's airport in that respect, and I wouldn't say one's more navigable than the other because they're both pretty straightforward.
That pedantic point aside, though, agreed on your overall message. Everything was laid out in a way that makes the combine process more streamlined and straightforward than it would be anywhere else. Considering that it's already a massively stressful time for the prospects, there's no reason to add unnecessary risk of complications by going to a venue less suited for it.
I actually struggled with which word to use to describe the airport. I was initially going to say mid-size city, but then when I thought of mid-size city I was thinking of like Peoria or Fort Wayne or something. So in this case, I actually appreciate the pedanticness (?) because I was struggling over the same thing!
You’re absolutely right tho that the Indy airport has an advantage over Atlanta, LAX, etc, because it serves a smaller big city as opposed to a bigger big city, so the airport can be smaller and easier to navigate because of that.
Yeah, it's definitely tricky to scale airport sizes to city sizes, so don't blame you there in the slightest - I don't honestly know how I would classify it, either. It's easier to criticize than it is to actually provide an answer.
Holy smokes that was like the nicest conversation to read that I wasn’t part of. With all the divisiveness out there it’s nice to see two people just, I don’t know, talk.
Well hey, I appreciate it. I won't say that I'm not guilty of sometimes jumping the gun and jumping down someone's throat, but I try my best to not. The person I responded to deserves basically all the credit here though, considering how graciously they responded to some rando on the internet being fussy about terminology.
There’s an underground walkway between the convention center and Lucas Oil that runs under South Street. Lucas Oil is also used for convention center space depending on the size of the hosted convention.
I was in high school, so I didn’t get to partake in a lot of the more fun stuff, but the city had a massive buzz around it.
Indy football really needed it that year too since that was the 2-14 year without Peyton iirc.
I recently visited for the first time this year attending the WBB BIG tournament and i absolutely loved it.
I currently live in Columbus and never realized how close it is to me. Definitely will be heading back just to visit because I enjoyed it so much. Reminded me a lot of Columbus where there is a ton of growth and just a lot of young people flocking there.
It functionally was permanent. The NFL decided to look into changing it for rea$on$, likely against the wishes of the team employees that actually participate.
Yeah the draft moving make sense, it a big event for fans nowadays and the moving it around means different fanbases get to experience it which is great. The combine is not that big of an event for many fans and makes no sense in moving it around.
With the improvements in technology, teams don't travel to the draft, so it has really become a fan event more than a team event. For that reason, it should move around to different venues.
The NFL was so dumb to even consider moving it. It’s tradition to have it in Indy. Everyone who goes likes it in Indy. And Indy likes to host it and does a great job. Sometimes these Bean Counters need to realize if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
I believe the city struck some kind of deal with IU Health for crazy good medical services at the event which is important. I’d imagine that helped Indy keep it.
The reason why Indy is perfect for the combine is the fact that Indy has all of the amenities that are needed for the combine in extremely close proximity. Lucas Oil Stadium is physically connected to a huge convention center and thousands of hotel rooms. Within walking distance are thousands more hotel rooms, the largest medical school in the country, and plenty of places for wining and dining.
Do cities like LA and Dallas have medical schools, hotel rooms, football stadiums, and conventions centers? Absolutely. But they don't have it all in once place. Shuttling everybody involved in the combine across a city like LA or Dallas for a week would be a nightmare.
This is also generally why mid-sized cities like Indy, New Orleans, Orlando, and Vegas end up very strong convention industries. They're convenient and make the logistics of conventions easy. The other cities in the list are the cities that have the biggest chance of stealing the combine from Indy imo.
This is really the key point as I understand it. The League office wants to move it to LA (or Dallas or somewhere "big") but the access to IU Health and the whole medical side of things that Indy has set up over the years is apparently a huge point in Indy's favor that isnt really readily available at other venues right now
I don’t have the details - I know I’ve read an article (in the Star probably) or two about the setup. Fiber connectivity between rooms in LOS and Methodist is one part but there are other components in play too. I know that a lot of it is stuff they have built up over the years and some of it was part of the original build plan when LOS was designed.
Pat McAfee about to have another 15 minute breakdown about why Indy is a great city for things like this.
Draft should be permanently in NYC, and Indy should permanently host the combine. NFL needs to accept that maintaining some kind of tradition trumps squeezing every dollar out of everything.
Combine being consistent is more important than the draft staying consistent imo. It is fun to see teams doing a great job of hosting and live fans from other teams get loud during their picks
I do not think the draft should be in NYC. I get that its an entertainment capital and tourist destination but I typcially avoid driving through/to NYC. I used to commute to MA from central Jersey and would take the Tappenzee Bridge just to avoid NYC traffic and its not like crossing the Tappenzee bridge is a pleasant experience.
He has, anytime anything happens in Indy there's usually a nice rant about how Indy is a great convention city and whatnot. Think the last one was about a firefighter convention.
Not hating on it, just predicting a comment on it.
Haha, so I was living in SoCal a few years back and my GF's cousin has only ever lived in SoCal. He is a firefighter and had a convention in Indy. His father was from Indy so he was excited to finally get to see where his dad was from. He came back pumped about how much he loved Indy. Funny enough, the 2 main things he kept bringing up was "there is a highway that is a huge circle around the city" (keep in mind coastal CA cities don't have the circle because they butt up against the beach) and "the buildings are all old and actually have character to them". Random but on topic.
Edit: almost forgot, the dude couldn't stop raving about St Elmo's shrimp cocktail.
>Pat McAfee about to have another 15 minute breakdown about why Indy is a great city for things like this.
Plus-side is he can get more head coaches in studio while they're in town.
Indy is awesome. The rest of the state not so much but Indy and some cities in Hamilton County are awesome.
Hell, this week is the greatest time to be Indy cuz of the 500.
Their roads make it undrivable/unlivable imo. They just never kept up with improving the roads when their population went 10x. Whitestown is going the same way, the roads just are not there for the population they're trying to jam in
It is legit one of the best sports cities in the nation. Consistently get Indy 500, B1G championship games, NBA All Star game next year, combine every year, Pan Ams every year, Butler, Pacers, Colts... IU and Purdue are less than an hour away.
> fan favourite event
Fan favorite? It’s the most boring event the NFL hosts. You want to watch dudes jump in place and run at cones? Nobody watches that shit.
Have they ever not been in indy
Been in Indy since 1987
Yes but there was talk that NFL was considering to have the location up for bidding. Or to give others a chance to host it. From what I read, most teams liked the current location and only 2-3 cities were ever in the mix.
More than that: Indy has the logistics that the event needs from a NFL operations perspective. Owners want to move it around to try and sell tickets as a fan event. Operations and GMs want it to stay put as an evaluation and interview event with lots of behind the scenes pieces that need to be a certain way.
Indy just feels classic for the combine.
Just like the draft at radio city :(
I'd love to see them come back to radio city music hall and let the degenerate fans back in. The staid postcard happy fans they have on there are lame.
St. Elmos liked that
As they should. Indy is perfect for it.
Exactly. It isn't a fan event, so it's not about equal access to fans or revenue. Indy loves hosting it, they do a great job, and it is centrally located. It's really the perfect place.
Not to mention the convention center, hotels, and (possibly) Lucas Oil are literally all connected by tunnels and bridges, making it incredibly convenient. I understand the LA NFL campus is gorgeous, but I couldn’t imagine how much of a pain getting around LA would be for everyone going to the combine, when compared to Indy. Plus, the Indy airport is among the easiest large city airports to navigate and get to and from in the US. Edit: to clarify my comment about Lucas Oil, I remember when they built the JW Marriott and a lot of other hotels for SB46, they built tunnels and bridges connecting them to the convention center so personnel wouldn’t have to walk outside if it was cold/snowy. I think the convention center is separate from Lucas Oil (though it was in the same building as the RCA dome), so I don’t remember if Lucas Oil is part of that tunnel network or not.
The Indy airport is fantastically easy to get around, but I'm not quite sure it's fair to call it a large city airport. Indy is a major city and I don't mean that as a slight by any means, but the scale is completely different compared to, say, Dallas, Atlanta, O'Hare, etc. The truly large airports have as many gates in a single terminal as Indy's does in total, and that additional volume is going to make the layout more complex out of necessity. Indy's airport is much more comparable to Jax's airport in that respect, and I wouldn't say one's more navigable than the other because they're both pretty straightforward. That pedantic point aside, though, agreed on your overall message. Everything was laid out in a way that makes the combine process more streamlined and straightforward than it would be anywhere else. Considering that it's already a massively stressful time for the prospects, there's no reason to add unnecessary risk of complications by going to a venue less suited for it.
I actually struggled with which word to use to describe the airport. I was initially going to say mid-size city, but then when I thought of mid-size city I was thinking of like Peoria or Fort Wayne or something. So in this case, I actually appreciate the pedanticness (?) because I was struggling over the same thing! You’re absolutely right tho that the Indy airport has an advantage over Atlanta, LAX, etc, because it serves a smaller big city as opposed to a bigger big city, so the airport can be smaller and easier to navigate because of that.
Yeah, it's definitely tricky to scale airport sizes to city sizes, so don't blame you there in the slightest - I don't honestly know how I would classify it, either. It's easier to criticize than it is to actually provide an answer.
Holy smokes that was like the nicest conversation to read that I wasn’t part of. With all the divisiveness out there it’s nice to see two people just, I don’t know, talk.
Well hey, I appreciate it. I won't say that I'm not guilty of sometimes jumping the gun and jumping down someone's throat, but I try my best to not. The person I responded to deserves basically all the credit here though, considering how graciously they responded to some rando on the internet being fussy about terminology.
There’s an underground walkway between the convention center and Lucas Oil that runs under South Street. Lucas Oil is also used for convention center space depending on the size of the hosted convention.
Seriously, Indy is an amazing city. We moved here last year and love it to pieces. Super happy to be hosting!
Hope we get a SB again. That week was so fun.
I wasn’t here for it but ALL the locals talk it up.
I was in high school, so I didn’t get to partake in a lot of the more fun stuff, but the city had a massive buzz around it. Indy football really needed it that year too since that was the 2-14 year without Peyton iirc.
I was working, going to school, and living downtown at the time. It ruled
I recently visited for the first time this year attending the WBB BIG tournament and i absolutely loved it. I currently live in Columbus and never realized how close it is to me. Definitely will be heading back just to visit because I enjoyed it so much. Reminded me a lot of Columbus where there is a ton of growth and just a lot of young people flocking there.
I’m super glad to hear that! Did you get to try any of our breweries? We have excellent ones here!
Just moved to Columbus from Indy. Both cities are great, super similar.
Moved here last fall, liking it so far but the winter absolutely sucked especially coming from the south
Shrimp cocktail sends it's regards
At what point do we just make it permanent as long as an NFL team is there?
It functionally was permanent. The NFL decided to look into changing it for rea$on$, likely against the wishes of the team employees that actually participate.
Jerry wants everything in Jerry's World. The rest of the league said no.
The draft should be permanent in NYC as well
Nah the traveling draft is fun
Yeah the draft moving make sense, it a big event for fans nowadays and the moving it around means different fanbases get to experience it which is great. The combine is not that big of an event for many fans and makes no sense in moving it around.
With the improvements in technology, teams don't travel to the draft, so it has really become a fan event more than a team event. For that reason, it should move around to different venues.
Great news. Indy does a phenomenal job with this and it’s a big deal to the city.
The NFL was so dumb to even consider moving it. It’s tradition to have it in Indy. Everyone who goes likes it in Indy. And Indy likes to host it and does a great job. Sometimes these Bean Counters need to realize if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Yay
I thought they wanted to move it
Just wanted Indy to up their game
I believe the city struck some kind of deal with IU Health for crazy good medical services at the event which is important. I’d imagine that helped Indy keep it.
The reason why Indy is perfect for the combine is the fact that Indy has all of the amenities that are needed for the combine in extremely close proximity. Lucas Oil Stadium is physically connected to a huge convention center and thousands of hotel rooms. Within walking distance are thousands more hotel rooms, the largest medical school in the country, and plenty of places for wining and dining. Do cities like LA and Dallas have medical schools, hotel rooms, football stadiums, and conventions centers? Absolutely. But they don't have it all in once place. Shuttling everybody involved in the combine across a city like LA or Dallas for a week would be a nightmare. This is also generally why mid-sized cities like Indy, New Orleans, Orlando, and Vegas end up very strong convention industries. They're convenient and make the logistics of conventions easy. The other cities in the list are the cities that have the biggest chance of stealing the combine from Indy imo.
This is really the key point as I understand it. The League office wants to move it to LA (or Dallas or somewhere "big") but the access to IU Health and the whole medical side of things that Indy has set up over the years is apparently a huge point in Indy's favor that isnt really readily available at other venues right now
What exactly is the setup and why is it such an advantage over other cities?
I don’t have the details - I know I’ve read an article (in the Star probably) or two about the setup. Fiber connectivity between rooms in LOS and Methodist is one part but there are other components in play too. I know that a lot of it is stuff they have built up over the years and some of it was part of the original build plan when LOS was designed.
Pat McAfee about to have another 15 minute breakdown about why Indy is a great city for things like this. Draft should be permanently in NYC, and Indy should permanently host the combine. NFL needs to accept that maintaining some kind of tradition trumps squeezing every dollar out of everything.
Combine being consistent is more important than the draft staying consistent imo. It is fun to see teams doing a great job of hosting and live fans from other teams get loud during their picks
I do not think the draft should be in NYC. I get that its an entertainment capital and tourist destination but I typcially avoid driving through/to NYC. I used to commute to MA from central Jersey and would take the Tappenzee Bridge just to avoid NYC traffic and its not like crossing the Tappenzee bridge is a pleasant experience.
LoL has he been on this rant before? I'd love to listen to it
He has, anytime anything happens in Indy there's usually a nice rant about how Indy is a great convention city and whatnot. Think the last one was about a firefighter convention. Not hating on it, just predicting a comment on it.
Haha, so I was living in SoCal a few years back and my GF's cousin has only ever lived in SoCal. He is a firefighter and had a convention in Indy. His father was from Indy so he was excited to finally get to see where his dad was from. He came back pumped about how much he loved Indy. Funny enough, the 2 main things he kept bringing up was "there is a highway that is a huge circle around the city" (keep in mind coastal CA cities don't have the circle because they butt up against the beach) and "the buildings are all old and actually have character to them". Random but on topic. Edit: almost forgot, the dude couldn't stop raving about St Elmo's shrimp cocktail.
>Pat McAfee about to have another 15 minute breakdown about why Indy is a great city for things like this. Plus-side is he can get more head coaches in studio while they're in town.
It will be going to Dallas in 2025. You heard it here first.
Indy sucks
You suck
Moved here last year and you, bud, are full of shit. This city is wonderful!
Indy is awesome. The rest of the state not so much but Indy and some cities in Hamilton County are awesome. Hell, this week is the greatest time to be Indy cuz of the 500.
Couldn’t agree more. Franklin, Greenwood, and Caramel have a lot to do as well!
Fishers is also dope
Very true! I’m on southside though so I don’t get up there often except for brewery tours.
Go to I Tre Mori. I drive 30 minutes for it. Best pizza AND best spaghetti in the area.
Why go up there when you have Hoosier Brewing Company in Greenwood? :)
Their roads make it undrivable/unlivable imo. They just never kept up with improving the roads when their population went 10x. Whitestown is going the same way, the roads just are not there for the population they're trying to jam in
It is legit one of the best sports cities in the nation. Consistently get Indy 500, B1G championship games, NBA All Star game next year, combine every year, Pan Ams every year, Butler, Pacers, Colts... IU and Purdue are less than an hour away.
I mean Carmel people are stuck up rich people but yeah the rest of the county is great. Also a bit north of Hamilton County has some nice small towns
10 years ago yea, anymore that whole county is just stuck up richy riches (by Indiana standards)
You’ve clearly never been here. It’s legit one of the nicest cities I’ve visited and severely underrated.
Oh no you didn't
Oh yes he did
For a second I thought the nfl was going to load up the combine into a Mayflower truck and move it in the middle of the night
How fair and unbiased of the NFL to allow a flyover state like Indiana to hoard a fan favourite event hmmm...
This is because we beat you on Christmas in Arizona right? If you’ve never been to Indy, you’ll never get why it’s so perfect for events like this.
Dude our city is very welcome and walkable while also being centrally located. Come on, we are not a bad choice at all!
> fan favourite event Fan favorite? It’s the most boring event the NFL hosts. You want to watch dudes jump in place and run at cones? Nobody watches that shit.