Anderson Community Embraces Colts

What a summer for the city of Anderson. The city is like many small towns with many jobless people in a struggling economy and businesses long gone. The Colts return to Anderson University has brought a much needed spark to the community.

With the success of the Colts, whenever the horseshoes are out in the community, the fans and media won’t be long behind. Ever since Peyton Manning’s arrival in 1998, the whole attitude has changed.

Anderson University has been working on attracting the Colts for years. They spent over $55 million dollars on renovations to the campus, stadium and more. They added a turf field, stadium likes and upgraded the locker rooms…all in an effort of attracting the Colts to AU.

Interning with WISH-TV this summer proved to me how much the Colts dominate the market. The Colts have two practices a day at Anderson and we always have a camera and reporter/intern in attendance. The team (Bill Polian) restricts media access even further and controls what the media can capture with their cameras, yet we return every practice.

Meanwhile, teams like the Pacers, high-school football, and Indiana football get little to zero attention. Every other team takes a backseat to the two-time AFC Champions.

The Anderson community has taken advantage of everything possible. On the drive on I-69, multiple billboards welcome Colts fans to the city and fight for their business. On the drive through Anderson, about every restaurant has Colts memorabilia and signs saying “Welcome to Anderson, Go Colts!” Even Perkins shows their love for Colts lineman Eric Foster who clearly had a good meal.

The staff at the restaurants are enjoying training camp in their town. I stopped by Pizza Hut on the way home from morning practice and they were more than friendly. They took care of our meal and were extremely welcoming. The staff was decked out in Colts gear to match the interior decorations.

The impact on the economy and community of Anderson cannot be accurately measured. The average session attendance is over 5,000 people…and the special night practices have attracted over 6,000 fans each. Two weeks into training camp and there have been an estimated 50,000 visitors. Not only are those people coming to a town they may have never visited, but they are stopping at restaurants, filling their gas tanks and visiting the casino.

Hoosier Park Racing and Casino has drastically increased their marketing and advertising efforts. They are giving away 30 cars over the summer and they also offer convenient “park & ride” from their casino to Colts camp; Coincidentally hoping you finish up your day or night “donating” money to their casinos.

The volunteer staff at Anderson has been terrific. They are helpful, appreciative and taking advantage of the situation. The 3 weeks the Colts take over the city will provide much relief to the city and local businesses.

People like winners. It does bother me at times the fact that the Colts have 20,000 people on their season ticket waiting list yet the Pacers draw less than the Fever. The true fans will shine through when #18 is retired and the team has a new face…but that’s a different story for a different day.