January 7, 2022 / Morgan Snyder
To help the city shine and warmly welcome 100,000 visitors this weekend, the 2022 College Football Playoff Indianapolis Host Committee has put into place another series of efforts to beautify, program core event areas, and infuse local art and music into the downtown landscape.
“We are thankful to Lilly Endowment, the Indy Arts Council, and Downtown Indy for their continued partnership to ensure visitors feel safe and welcomed,” said Susan Baughman, president of the 2022 College Football Playoff Indianapolis Host Committee. “As with all major sporting events the city has hosted over the last 50 years, we are proud this weekend is more than a game and will also showcase Indy’s vibrant art and cultural scene.”
In addition to the 29-story illuminated graphic on the JW Marriott and nightly Shining a Light performances on Monument Circle, significant outdoor lighting and gobos has been installed to illuminate downtown, to “Light it Up” for fans and unique wayfinding. Also, fan warming zones have been installed along Georgia Street to provide warmth for fans as they watch the Monument Circle live- stream concerts on giant screens.
In partnership with the Indy Arts Council, the more than 100 Central Indiana-based visual artists and performers have been engaged in paid opportunities to welcome and entertain fans. Over half of the artists commissioned are artists of color and more than 60 percent of the performance opportunities have been awarded to women or women-fronted groups. This includes a series of 15 new murals and a poem created by local artists and installed on the Capitol Street/CSX underpass, the path the majority of the city’s 100,000 visitors will take as they enter the game inside Lucas Oil Stadium. This installation will remain in place after the event weekend.
Also in time for kickoff, five field goal murals have also been created by local artists and installed along Georgia Street, areas surrounding the Indiana Convention Center, and at the Indianapolis International Airport (IND). These are added to the Indy Arts Council’s existing Sidewalk Gallery program, put into place for March Madness as apart of #IndyKeepsCreating. For a complete list of participating artists, visit IndyArts.org.
For visitors arriving into IND, local musicians will play in Civic Plaza throughout the weekend and again on Tuesday, January 11 as visitors depart the city post game.
In partnership with Downtown Indy and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, volunteers conducted an additional beautification and clean-up day this week in key areas surrounding the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, Georgia Street, and Monument Circle. This included mulching, painting, street-sweeping, and winter plantings. Additionally, in partnership with the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, evergreen planters with LED football lights have been installed throughout the Championship Campus.
All of these programs to help welcome visitors are part of a College Football Playoff Local Host Committee and Indy Arts Council partnership, with funding made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc.
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The 2022 College Football Playoff Indianapolis Host Committee works with the CFP to promote, organize and execute the January 10, 2022, CFP National Championship and its related events in the Indianapolis community. The Indianapolis Host Committee remains committed to a seamless partnership with the CFP and stakeholders to continue making a difference in communities across the state of Indiana after the game and into the future. For more information, visit IndyFootball2022.com.
