Super Bowl in Indy? Owner Irsay holds keys

The ballot
is secret, the issues well-known.

When NFL
team owners sit down Tuesday to decide the site of the 2011 Super Bowl, they
will discuss weather and hotel space. In weighing the merits of

Indianapolis,

Dallas and

Phoenix, they’ll gauge
transportation and parking and which area is best equipped to entertain an
invasion of tens of thousands of fans.

And in the
end, Indy’s Super Bowl fate could come down to a referendum on one man: team
owner Jim Irsay.

“If
(the cities’ bids) are relatively equal, it can be a vote for the owner,”
said Marc Ganis, president of the Chicago-based Sportscorp Inc., a consulting
firm frequently used by NFL teams. “If Jim Irsay was not as respected as
he is,

Indianapolis
wouldn’t even be discussed.

Full Article