Jump to content
Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts Fan Forum

How the Indianapolis Colts might've become the Los Angeles Colts


grmasterb

Recommended Posts

5 minutes ago, Live and let live said:

I don't recall when it was but Irsay definitely used the threat of a move to LA to get the Colts stadium built. I remember reading about it. It was a threat that most owners needing new stadiums used.

 

Not according for former Indy mayor Bart Peterson. Even Mortensen's 2002 report fails to quote Jim Irsay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that more of the risk is on Irsay now, the onus is definitely on him to provide a winning team. It also explains why he has been more heavily involved in the Grigson era knowing the ramifications if he did not generate enough revenue, the city is not losing much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Live and let live said:

I don't recall when it was but Irsay definitely used the threat of a move to LA to get the Colts stadium built. I remember reading about it. It was a threat that most owners needing new stadiums used.

 

Chappell has always claimed that was nonsense.  He claimed Irsay never used the threat.  Although he probably didn't need to.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Nice piece. I didn't realize all the ins & outs of LOS/keeping the Colts in Indy, Irsay happy, and the overall commitment by the city/citizens to do so. And, chad72 is right. It's all been on Irsay to get this organization to a place that's worthy of that. Since 2004, he's done that. Seems he's also serious about continuing down that pathway with this new coaching regime.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, grmasterb said:

What's interesting is that the conventional wisdom is that Peyton Manning is the reason LOS exists when it appears that Bart Peterson and Fred Glass were the catalysts, not Peyton Manning's popularity or any push by Jim Irsay. 

It had a lot to do with having a successful team. A lot of our success had to do with Peyton Manning. How hard is that to understand? If we would've had a team that went 4-12/5-11/6-10 every year or even an average team hovering around .500 through out the early to mid 2000's I seriously doubt we would be here. JMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

It had a lot to do with having a successful team. A lot of our success had to do with Peyton Manning. How hard is that to understand? If we would've had a team that went 4-12/5-11/6-10 every year or even an average team hovering around .500 through out the early to mid 2000's I seriously doubt we would be here. JMO.

Did you even bother to read the article? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll say it again, I was getting my car fixed and I heard this rumor on the radio. The rumor was that Irsay stood up  in the room at an  owners meeting and said what will it take to move my teamon to  Los Angeles. 

 

When I heard this I was sick to my stomach.

 

In the opening game that year against Cleveland, Chris Mortensen came on and said it looks like the Colts are  the front runner to move to Los Angeles.

 

Thanks Mort for ruining our day and being wrong yet once again

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/31/2016 at 8:50 PM, MR. Blueblood said:

LOS is supposed to be the house that Manning built.... maybe some of those zealots should read this article

 

The Hoosier dome later renamed the RCA dome got the COLTS here but it was not gonna keep them here ,

 

Before 1998 the Colts were mediocre at best by the time Peyton Manning moved on the Colts had 2 SB appearances with 1 Win & a decade of excellence & a fan base of dedicated NFL fans  our small market team has to compete with the big boys the City & State has to do whats best for the City unlike in Baltimore our Politicians got it .

 

Zealots no just good Colts fans with both feet planted squarely in reality 18 put us on the map with out him we would still only be a basketball state .

 

With out which there would be no LOS Peyton Manning the face of the franchise proved to our State politicians that the Colts were worth the investment & with out eminent domain threats the 2 sides reached an agreement the 2 sides had there reasons for the deal .

 

It all centered around the fact that the Colts led by Peyton Manning was a great asset that was worth keeping .

 

We may not have understood everything at the time but it is clear we could have lost our team like St Louis did had our politicians been as short sighted as those in St Louis or Baltimore . 

 

Years of excellence on the field made it easy for all concerned to reach the deal .

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, ÅÐØNϧ 1 said:

 

The Hoosier dome later renamed the RCA dome got the COLTS here but it was not gonna keep them here ,

 

Before 1998 the Colts were mediocre at best by the time Peyton Manning moved on the Colts had 2 SB appearances with 1 Win & a decade of excellence & a fan base of dedicated NFL fans  our small market team has to compete with the big boys the City & State has to do whats best for the City unlike in Baltimore our Politicians got it .

 

Zealots no just good Colts fans with both feet planted squarely in reality 18 put us on the map with out him we would still only be a basketball state .

 

With out which there would be no LOS Peyton Manning the face of the franchise proved to our State politicians that the Colts were worth the investment & with out eminent domain threats the 2 sides reached an agreement the 2 sides had there reasons for the deal .

 

It all centered around the fact that the Colts led by Peyton Manning was a great asset that was worth keeping .

 

We may not have understood everything at the time but it is clear we could have lost our team like St Louis did had our politicians been as short sighted as those in St Louis or Baltimore . 

 

Years of excellence on the field made it easy for all concerned to reach the deal .

 

 

Couldn't of said it any better. Cant even add to this!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 6:10 PM, grmasterb said:

What's interesting is that the conventional wisdom is that Peyton Manning is the reason LOS exists when it appears that Bart Peterson and Fred Glass were the catalysts, not Peyton Manning's popularity or any push by Jim Irsay. 

While Manning really put the Colts as a top team it was the city of Indianapolis who actually wanted a new stadium along with Irsay. The city was losing way too much money with the set up of the RCA dome and the convention center. Building LOS and then expanding the convention center was a smart move by all involved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think it was ever that close to happening, short of the politicos saying "No" outright.  I don't think Irsay wanted to move.  He likes the lower press scrutiny that Indy provides, and the general "niceness" of the fans compared to either coast.  He said as much as my parents got on a list of Colts ticket holders, at that time, to listen to him and his team.  At least two meetings with Irsay and his marketing people to talk to them how a move (or not) would be perceived, whether they wanted the team to stay, how much ticket costs they were willing to incur (PSLs, etc.), game day expectations...

 

My parents went, met with them, told them their opinions, and they pretty much followed what at least the fans and ticket holders there told the Colts.  And my father's impression of hearing Irsay was that he really never wanted to go to LA, but would only go if there was a huge payday that would compensate for all the extra headaches.  There obviously wasn't enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting article. Seems like Indy had a bad lease agreement when the Colts came, similar to the bad lease St. Louis had. Both cities had to make bad deals to secure a team , then were shaken down with the LA  card, to get either ironclad, can't lose guarantees that Irsay wanted, or a fully funded St Louis stadium which I don't think Kroenke ever wanted, because there was much more money to be had in LA. 

Kudos to Indy for getting the deal done for the fans, as everyone wants NFL football. However, as I said earlier, how  much is enough ? Someone has to pay for those Beatles drumsets ! Lol

 

PS. Some of you wonder why Baltimore didn't put Colts on the scoreboard for a long while and was bitter ? Irsay actually rubbed it in with the stadium deal during the Colts- Ravens game ! Wow 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

While Manning really put the Colts as a top team it was the city of Indianapolis who actually wanted a new stadium along with Irsay. The city was losing way too much money with the set up of the RCA dome and the convention center. Building LOS and then expanding the convention center was a smart move by all involved.

 

Having a better understanding of the old lease terms compared to the agreement that got LOS done makes it easier to understand Irsay's resistance to renegotiating the lease a few years ago. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, The Old Crow said:

Interesting article. Seems like Indy had a bad lease agreement when the Colts came, similar to the bad lease St. Louis had. Both cities had to make bad deals to secure a team , then were shaken down with the LA  card, to get either ironclad, can't lose guarantees that Irsay wanted, or a fully funded St Louis stadium which I don't think Kroenke ever wanted, because there was much more money to be had in LA. 

Kudos to Indy for getting the deal done for the fans, as everyone wants NFL football. However, as I said earlier, how  much is enough ? Someone has to pay for those Beatles drumsets ! Lol

 

PS. Some of you wonder why Baltimore didn't put Colts on the scoreboard for a long while and was bitter ? Irsay actually rubbed it in with the stadium deal during the Colts- Ravens game ! Wow 

 

Actually, the bad lease was negotiated in 1999.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On January 30, 2016 at 6:10 PM, grmasterb said:

What's interesting is that the conventional wisdom is that Peyton Manning is the reason LOS exists when it appears that Bart Peterson and Fred Glass were the catalysts, not Peyton Manning's popularity or any push by Jim Irsay. 

Yeah but the Colts success thanks to Peyton Manning is a large part of why tax payers were willing to go along with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, GoColts8818 said:

Yeah but the Colts success thanks to Peyton Manning is a large part of why tax payers were willing to go along with it.

 

Taxpayers didn't vote on the matter. It passed the general assembly, then county councils voted to adopt the tax. The only tax involved that directly impacts most locals is the additional 1% restaurant tax. There's plenty of petulant whining from folks who object to paying 30 cents more on a $30 dining bill. Ticket taxes, hotel tax and car rental taxes pay the rest. This is why RFRA is a big, big deal for Indy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I know, how some people don't grasp that is unbelievable to me. I guess some people think if we stunk for years we would still be here??

Once again, the blind belief that if the Colts hadn't drafted Peyton Manning, they would've stunk for years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, The Old Crow said:

 

 

Interesting. Was the lease good in 1984 at the old Hoosier Dome ? 

 

I'm honestly not certain. The lease renegotiation in 1999 coincided with the relocation of the press box to top of the RCA Dome, which allowed for the installation of more luxury boxes. This also reduced capacity, which I'm guessing was one of the reasons why the Colts insisted on revenue guarantees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, grmasterb said:

 

Taxpayers didn't vote on the matter. It passed the general assembly, then county councils voted to adopt the tax. The only tax involved that directly impacts most locals is the additional 1% restaurant tax. There's plenty of petulant whining from folks who object to paying 30 cents more on a $30 dining bill. Ticket taxes, hotel tax and car rental taxes pay the rest. This is why RFRA is a big, big deal for Indy.

And had people not supported it they would have voted the people who did vote on it out.  It was an easy thing for people to support because the Colts were winning and no one wanted to see the Colts leave and you didn't want to be known as person who let the Colts leave town because that too would have hurt you for reelection.  Had the Colts not been as successful as they were and people were indifferent towards them it would have not been as easy to do deal to keep the Colts here so Manning did play a role because he was the biggest reason they were winning at the time. That's what's people are referring too when they the house Peyton built because the PR war for support for the stadium was pretty much won by them being popular.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, grmasterb said:

Once again, the blind belief that if the Colts hadn't drafted Peyton Manning, they would've stunk for years.

Well, let me see. From 1984-1997 we had 3 seasons where we made the Playoffs 1987, 1995, and 1996. Harbaugh's year in 1995 was the only year where we were legit Playoff wise and we were 3-13 in 1997 before Peyton arrived. Why wouldn't I think the way I do?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Well, let me see. From 1984-1997 we had 3 seasons where we made the Playoffs 1987, 1995, and 1996. Harbaugh's year in 1995 was the only year where we were legit Playoff wise and we were 3-13 in 1997 before Peyton arrived. Why wouldn't I think the way I do?

You seem to forget there was a change in ownership in 1997, and the first thing that owner did was hire Bill Polian.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

From the perspective of someone who lives in LA,  it's been pretty clear that Los Angeles was used by the NFL as a threat.

 

Seems most every team at one point or another threatened to move to L.A. in order to get the best deal out of politicians in other towns.

 

Teams were rarely serious about moving here.     It was just the threat.

 

Believe me,  when suddenly the Rams came calling and then were quickly followed by the Raiders and Chargers it all seemed very strange to people here in Los Angeles.     We've grown numb to the idea that an actual team would come here.

 

Time after time we've been Charley Brown and the NFL was Lucy who always managed to pull the ball away at the last second as Charley would fall flat on his behind......      missed again.    And again.     And again.

 

And then this year,  suddenly --- it happened!!       Surprise, surprise!     People in LA are still in a state of shock.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, grmasterb said:

 

Have you not noticed how politics in the suburban counties around Indianapolis operates?

 

Had the stadium not been a popular plan because the Colts were so popular it would have been hard for any politician to vote for it.  Those are the things that come up when you run for re-election.  

 

When people say Peyton built the stadium they are talking about him turning the Colts into a winner and making football matter in Indianapolis so there was a chance to do a deal to build a new stadium in the first place.  You don't vote to raise some taxes and build a multi-million dollar stadium if people are just kinda ho hum about the team that is going to call it home.  That's when people point out there are better things to spend the money on.  Clearly Manning didn't have any say in the deal that ultimately kept the Colts here and got LOS built but thanks to him transforming the Colts from NFL doormat to NFL powerhouse the environment was changed so a deal like that could be done.  That's what those people are talking about when they say that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

It was built to keep the state basketball finals in Indianapolis.....

 

Do you have a source to back that up, or are you just making stuff up?  The Hoosier Dome opened in 1984.  The first time that the state basketball finals were played there was in 1990.  From 1984 to 1990, they played the state finals at Market Square.  I have a hard time believing that they built the Hoosier Dome to keep the state basketball finals in Indy (it would be crazy to put that kind of money into an arena for a high school event anyway) and then waited six years after the Hoosier Dome opened to actually start playing the finals there.


 

33 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

It was also a fraction of the cost of LOS.

 

Of course it was a fraction of the cost of LOS.  It was built almost 25 years before LOS.  And Indy is still making payments on it after it has been hauled away in pieces.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...