INDIANAPOLIS —
The unseasonably warm weather in the Super Bowl’s host city has created an envious problem: Record crowds descending on the the city’s downtown.
An estimated crowd of 250,000 people jammed into the open-air festival site known as Super Bowl Village on Friday evening, filling a space created for about one-10th that number.
“We said at the beginning of all this that we wanted to make the Village into something like ‘Times Square meets the Super Bowl’ and I think we did it,” said Mark Miles, president of the Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee.
Miles went as far as predicting the total downtown crowd numbers for the week leading up to, and including, game day. “We’re within striking distance of one million people,” Miles said Saturday. “I think we’re going to do it.”
Temperatures that reached the mid-50s were part of the draw. So were the free concerts, the food and beer booths, the 800-foot zip line that 8,000 people had ridden by Friday night, and the multiple opportunities for a celebrity sighting.
That’s meant some logistical challenges, though. On Friday evening, Indianapolis police had to shut down some downtown streets near the village and reroute traffic.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief Michael Bates said there were 13 minor injuries and 22 arrests, mostly of intoxicated people, on Friday evening. The bigger concern was that “there were lots of lost children.”
The family-friendly atmosphere of the village was in part because of its proximity to the NFL Experience, an interactive theme park located inside the Indiana Convention Center. More than 25,000 people paid to get into the NFL Experience on Friday, bringing the total crowd for the past week to a record-breaking 216,000.
Another factor may be the “Know Before You Go” website created by the host committee that offers frequently updated information about downtown parking and traffic. By Saturday morning, more than 200,000 had visited the website.
Celebrity sightings at multiple downtown venues may also be goosing the crowd numbers. Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neil walked into Hilbert Circle Theater on Monument Circle in pink underwear — in front of a large crowd — to settle a bet with NBC late show host Jimmy Fallon.
The warm weather crowds present just the opposite problem from the cold weather complaints at last year’s Super Bowl in Dallas, when a freak ice-and-snow storm hit the city, nearly paralyzing traffic around the sprawling Super Bowl site.
Indianapolis’ compact downtown has pulled in more foot traffic and made it easier for people to get around. The Super Bowl venue, Lucas Oil Stadium, sits at the edge of an eight-block area that includes the Super Bowl Village and 18,300 hotel rooms.
Some members of the host committee were eager not to jinx their good luck by bragging too much; as they noted, they still have game day to go.
Maureen Hayden is the Indiana Statehouse bureau chief for CNHI, the parent company of the Tribune-Star. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
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Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Audience participation: Fans attending media day at Lucas Oil Stadium interact with players Tuesday in Indianapolis.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza QB questions: New England quarterback Tom Brady answers questions from the media Tuesday during media day at Lucas Oil Stadium, the location of Super Bowl XLVI, in Indianapolis..
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Hair's a question for you: Pittsburgh Steeler player and Head & Shoulders for Men spokesman Brett Keisel (with beard, left) asks New England head coach Bill Belichick if hair will play a role in the outcome of the upcoming Super Bowl during media day Tuesday in Indianapolis.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Winner's ring: Fans take photos and look over the Super Bowl ring display Jan. 29 at the NFL Experience presented by GMC in Indianapolis.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Say cheese, Steve: New York punter and former Terre Haute North standout Steve Weatherford (5) smiles for the New York Giants' Super Bowl team photo Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Punter's perspective: New York punter and former Terre Haute North standout Steve Weatherford is interviewed by various news organizations during the Super Bowl Media Day at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Tuesday.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Caught on tape: New York Giants safety Deon Grant records his own interview during media day Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Dad comes through: An NFL fan breaks through two barriers with his young son as they enjoy the NFL Experience presented by GMC on Sunday in Indianapolis.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Touch down celebration: A flight attendant on the plane carrying the New York Giants displays the team's flag after the plane touched down in Indianapolis on Monday at the Indianapolis International Airport.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Winning image: A crew attaches an image of the Lombardi Trophy to the JW Marriott Indianapolis in downtown Indianapolis on Wednesday in preparation for Super Bowl XLVI.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza He can laugh; he's in the Super Bowl: New York Giants punter and former Terre Haute North standout Steve Weatherford laughs as he answers a question from a member of the media during media day Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza A slightly larger glove size: Peter Gould, 10, of Carmel compares his hand to a model of former NFL player Warren Sapp's hand as his grandfather, Jerry Langner, looks on inside the NFL Experience presented by GMC on Jan. 29 in Indianapolis.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Media row: New England Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch answers a question from members of the media during media day Tuesday in Indianapolis.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza One for the QB: New England quarterback Tom Brady listens to a question from the media during media day at Lucas Oil Stadium, the location of Super Bowl XLVI, in Indianapolis on Tuesday.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Interview on the 50: ESPN's Chris Berman interviews New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning during media day Tuesday in Indianapolis.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza A successful route: A young participant in the NFL Experience makes a catch after he ran around a life-size cutout of Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu on Jan. 29 in Indianapolis.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza I'd like to buy a vowel: A crew finishes attaching the "V" in the Roman numeral XLVI on Lucas Oil Stadium in preparation for Super Bowl XLVI on Jan. 25 in Indianapolis.
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