FILO_girl
I'm not here
From Coltfreaks.com, looks like they are staying cornfed..... 
Stadium wins, 108-36
Measure passes House 62-33, Senate 46-3; plan is to break ground Aug. 1, open arena in '08.
By Matthew Tully
The $600 million, 63,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium is the first piece of the roughly $900 million Downtown project.
After four months of sometimes angry debate, the General Assembly took a crucial step toward solidifying the city's NFL future Friday night by easily approving a financing plan for a new Colts stadium and expanded Indiana Convention Center.
The vote paves the way for the start of one of the biggest public works projects in Indianapolis history and appears to end years of questions about whether the Colts are here to stay.
"We are going to expand the Convention Center, and we are going to build a new stadium for the Indianapolis Colts to play in for 30 more years," Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson said. "This is really an extraordinary project."
It was also an extraordinary debate, one that stretched back to 2002, when the mayor began formal negotiations with Colts owner Jim Irsay. At times, many wondered whether the Colts were going to leave for Los Angeles or elsewhere in search of a bigger market and greater riches.
But after years of uncertainty, it appears Colts fans can relax.
"There is still much to be accomplished and many issues to be resolved before the new venue becomes a reality," Irsay said in a statement. "But tonight the project has taken a big step forward."
The team would not detail the outstanding issues.
As the mayor watched from behind a glass door outside the chamber, the Senate passed the legislation 46-3 late Friday night. Less than an hour later, with the mayor once again watching and the clock nearing 11 p.m., the House passed the measure 62-33.
"It's a great day, a historic day, really," said Sen. J. Murray Clark, R-Indianapolis.
Officials said the vote means work could begin this summer on the 63,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium, the first piece of the roughly $900 million Downtown project. Gov. Mitch Daniels, who won control of the project from the mayor during the session's debate this year, has promised the stadium will be ready for the 2008 NFL season.
For residents and businesses, the long-sought votes mean a series of local taxes likely will increase. If local governments act by early summer, the stadium and Convention Center project will be funded with increases in Marion County restaurant, hotel and car rental taxes, and with revenues from new restaurant taxes in the seven counties that border Indianapolis.
The state is kicking in about $11 million a year by redirecting state taxes generated at the city's sports and convention facilities.
City officials say the project offers a dramatic array of opportunities for Indianapolis. The NCAA has agreed to have several Final Four basketball tournaments at the stadium in the coming decades, and the NFL has suggested the city would have a good chance of winning one of the biggest events in all of American sports -- a Super Bowl.
Moreover, the Convention Center is set to nearly double in size once the stadium is built to the south of the RCA Dome. The Convention Center expansion would take place on the Dome's site.
The city was upset the bill does not include money to run the new venues. "But when all is said and done, that was not enough to overwhelm the project," said Fred Glass, the Indianapolis attorney who led the mayor's negotiations with the Colts.
Stadium wins, 108-36
Measure passes House 62-33, Senate 46-3; plan is to break ground Aug. 1, open arena in '08.
By Matthew Tully
The $600 million, 63,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium is the first piece of the roughly $900 million Downtown project.
After four months of sometimes angry debate, the General Assembly took a crucial step toward solidifying the city's NFL future Friday night by easily approving a financing plan for a new Colts stadium and expanded Indiana Convention Center.
The vote paves the way for the start of one of the biggest public works projects in Indianapolis history and appears to end years of questions about whether the Colts are here to stay.
"We are going to expand the Convention Center, and we are going to build a new stadium for the Indianapolis Colts to play in for 30 more years," Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson said. "This is really an extraordinary project."
It was also an extraordinary debate, one that stretched back to 2002, when the mayor began formal negotiations with Colts owner Jim Irsay. At times, many wondered whether the Colts were going to leave for Los Angeles or elsewhere in search of a bigger market and greater riches.
But after years of uncertainty, it appears Colts fans can relax.
"There is still much to be accomplished and many issues to be resolved before the new venue becomes a reality," Irsay said in a statement. "But tonight the project has taken a big step forward."
The team would not detail the outstanding issues.
As the mayor watched from behind a glass door outside the chamber, the Senate passed the legislation 46-3 late Friday night. Less than an hour later, with the mayor once again watching and the clock nearing 11 p.m., the House passed the measure 62-33.
"It's a great day, a historic day, really," said Sen. J. Murray Clark, R-Indianapolis.
Officials said the vote means work could begin this summer on the 63,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium, the first piece of the roughly $900 million Downtown project. Gov. Mitch Daniels, who won control of the project from the mayor during the session's debate this year, has promised the stadium will be ready for the 2008 NFL season.
For residents and businesses, the long-sought votes mean a series of local taxes likely will increase. If local governments act by early summer, the stadium and Convention Center project will be funded with increases in Marion County restaurant, hotel and car rental taxes, and with revenues from new restaurant taxes in the seven counties that border Indianapolis.
The state is kicking in about $11 million a year by redirecting state taxes generated at the city's sports and convention facilities.
City officials say the project offers a dramatic array of opportunities for Indianapolis. The NCAA has agreed to have several Final Four basketball tournaments at the stadium in the coming decades, and the NFL has suggested the city would have a good chance of winning one of the biggest events in all of American sports -- a Super Bowl.
Moreover, the Convention Center is set to nearly double in size once the stadium is built to the south of the RCA Dome. The Convention Center expansion would take place on the Dome's site.
The city was upset the bill does not include money to run the new venues. "But when all is said and done, that was not enough to overwhelm the project," said Fred Glass, the Indianapolis attorney who led the mayor's negotiations with the Colts.
