Indianapolis: A Place To Live In Sports

Submitted By dawnaaron
Words: 1969
Pages: 8

Indianapolis is a great place to live if you like sports. It is host to several different sports teams and some of the biggest sporting events around. Whether you like football, basketball, baseball, or auto racing, this is the place to visit. Here you can see some of the most thrilling games and events around. The Indianapolis Colts, host games at Lucas Oil Stadium which has been home to the Super Bowl and hopes to host more to come. The Indiana Pacers, part of the NBA, host games at Bankers Life Field House which is also home to the Indiana Fever and Indiana Ice. The Indianapolis Indians, part of the MILB, host games at Victory Field. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is host to several major racing events including The Indianapolis 500, The Brickyard 400, and The Moto GP. The Indiana Fever was established in 2000 and is part of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and play in the Eastern Conference. The Fever are the current WNBA World Champions. In the team’s history, they have made playoff appearances seven times and hold two conference titles. The Indy Eleven is a soccer team formed in 2013. They will compete in the North American Soccer League and play their home games at IU Michael A. Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium. They are set to start play in the 2014 season. The Indiana Ice, a Tier 1 hockey team, was formed in 2004. They play their home games at the Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. On occasion, they do play a home game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Aside from these major sports teams, Indianapolis has many other sports friendly events and venues. Downtown Indianapolis is home to the headquarters of the NCAA, the governing body for US collegiate sports and the NCAA Hall of Champions Museum. Basketball has a very strong tradition in Indiana and the museum is a great place to visit in order to learn of the heritage. Indianapolis has been called the amateur sports capital of the world. This may have something to do with the fact that thru the years, it has played host to multiple major sporting events. Indianapolis has hosted many rounds of the Men’s and Women’s NCAA tournaments as well as the NCAA Final Fours for both. It also has hosted several Men and Women’s Big Ten Tournaments. In 2009, Indianapolis hosted the Indianapolis Tennis Championship, which is part of the US Open. In 1987, Indianapolis hosted the Pan American Games in which 4,000 athletes from 38 nations participated. If you are familiar with sports in Indianapolis, you know that each of the above mentioned sports and events have really advanced over the years. The venues have been upgraded, and teams have improved. Indianapolis is definitely a destination city when it comes to sports!

The Indianapolis Colts were established in 1953 as the Baltimore Colts. The team made the move to Indianapolis in 1984 due to differences that could not be smoothed over between the city of Baltimore and the Colts owner Robert Irsay. There was a huge controversy over the move due to the fact that the team left Baltimore without notice in the middle of the night. The Colts are part of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference. Since their move to Indianapolis, the Colts have made it to the playoffs fourteen times, as well as made two Super Bowl appearances. The first was a win against the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI, and the second was a loss against the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV. The Colts had great success under quarterback Peyton Manning from 1998 until 2011, appearing in the playoffs nine consecutive seasons, tying a league record. Currently, the Indianapolis Colts are owned by Jim Irsay, managed by Ryan Grigsin, and coached by Chuck Pagano. The current quarterback, Andrew Luck, was a first round draft pick in 2012. The Colts play all home games at Lucas Oil Stadium, which was built in 2008. The stadium is state-of-the-art, seats 63,000 people on game day, and has a retractable roof. Recently,