This week Indianapolis is being transformed into the party capitol of the world as everyone from sports fans to supermodels begin arriving for the Super Bowl. To accommodate all of these party people, bars and clubs are popping up in vacant spaces around the city.
The Cuda Lounge, located at 141 S. Meridian St in Super Bowl Village, is one of Indy's biggest pop-up lounges with events planned throughout the week. ]]>
So yesterday we were just talking about an airport farm over at Chicago-O’Hare, and now we discover that there’s a different kind of farm right at Indianapolis International Airport. Unfortunately the farm in Indy isn’t offering any produce, but it does certainly offer up a little slice of green travel.
Airport officials are hard at work figuring out how to engineer and install one of the biggest and baddest solar farms in the country—and definitely one of the largest at an airport. There’s three companies being tasked with figuring out all the technical and science stuff, but it sounds like there's going to be at least 41,000 solar panels involved. ]]>
May is a big month for racing of all kinds. The Kentucky Derby is only a few weeks away, and at the end of the month is when a slightly faster race arrives to rev its engines. The Indianapolis 500 is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year—it's crazy to think that race-fast cars have been around that long—so if you’ve ever wanted join the crowds this might be the best year to do so.
There’s a lot of room for a lot of fans, so don’t worry if you haven’t gotten your seat just yet. Some of the fancy seats, vistas, and penthouses are no longer available through the general box office, but that’s fine with us because anyone waiting this long for a spot probably wont' want to spend in the triple digits or more for a seat. ]]>
Dear airports: it's about time you started exploring the possibilities of alternative energy, like solar energy via solar panel farms, for instance. The Indianapolis Star reports that, like Fresno-Yosemite Airport and Denver International Airport, the Indianapolis Airport is outfitting itself with the latest in solar power in a bid to generate "10 megawatts of electricity an hour -- enough to power up to 6,000 homes." There's just one problem here; the airports aren't using the energy to power themselves, but selling it to the grid in a bid to make cold, hard cash. it's estimated to pull in some $190 million just at Indianapolis over the next 30 years. That better become one bangin' airport with all that moolah.
It's actually a pretty genius idea—that the fancy airport Sbarro's from which you're ordering was partially funded by the sun—and empty lots of land or unused runways are now being given a somewhat altruistic purpose. Homes get energy, airport gets money, and fossil fuels are eliminated from the equation. Rah! Rah! Sis-boom-bah.
[Photo: CFBsr]]]>
This year has not been good for our sports gambling habit, and the men’s NCAA basketball tournament is not making things any better. We’re surprised our bracket hasn’t just been totally canceled, because at this point there’s no point in wasting the effort to tally up our final score. Despite our misfortunes, we’d still like to go check out the tournament’s last few games, and even though we didn’t plan anything in advance there are options. Here’s a few Final Four Indianapolis vacation packages in case you have some extra cash hanging around the house.
· PrimeSport
PrimeSport is offering up several packages that include accommodations and tickets, and none of them are really affordable. However, if you think you can siphon a little cash from the checking account without your significant other finding out, there is one option. For $1,695 per person—assuming two people—you’ll be resting up at the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Airport. It’s not that close to the action, but you’ll get transportation to Lucas Oil Stadium for the games. The price of the package includes five nights accommodations and Terrace Level Side Court tickets. It’s not the best vantage point, but it’s cooler than watching on TV. ]]>
It’s hard to compete with the Dallas Cowboys’ new shrine dedicated to all things football, but the Indianapolis Colts are trying their best. The Colts haven’t lost one game this season, and thanks to solid play throughout the decade, they were rewarded with their own brand new stadium.
Lucas Oil Stadium sits just outside of downtown Indianapolis and swung its gates open for the first time in 2008—it might even still have that new stadium smell. The architects went with a retro design to the outside of the facility, taking inspiration from traditional stadiums. However, there’s nothing old about the inside of the place, especially when they decide to crack open the huge retraceable roof. They’ve also got a huge wall of windows that can be opened when the weather outside isn’t frightful, and it even allows for a pretty decent shot of the downtown skyline. It was the world’s largest installation of moveable glass, but the Cowboys stole that title from the place with their new home. ]]>
If your old x-ray machine is on its last legs, then we know a place where you can get a good deal on a slightly used one. Tomorrow the Indianapolis International Airport is selling off old airport goodies during a one-day auction. Bring some bucks, because the airport is hoping to make more than $500,000 during their sale. Whether it be forklifts, picnic tables, or old monitors, as long as you can fit it in your car—you can buy it.
Everything is coming from the airport’s old terminal, since travelers have been enjoying their new terminal since late last year. The hallways of the old terminal will be lined with the auction items, and some of the bigger stuff will also be on the tarmac. Even if you aren’t going to buy anything, it might be worth checking out just for the old terminal behind-the-scenes tour; it's a great photography opportunity.
Organizers say that anything that isn’t sold will remain in the building and will be demolished as well. Too bad they can’t just donate the used equipment to other airports that might be needy, or just give us a snazzy row of terminal chairs to adorn the halls of Jaunted HQ.
Related Stories: [Photo: ann-dabney]
· Airport Garage Sale Worth A Stopover [IndyStar]
· New Terminals Travel: Indy's New Airport Opens November 11 [Jaunted]
· Airports coverage [Jaunted]