Four major middle Midwest metros: Kansas City, Saint Louis, Omaha, Indianapolis (quality, size)
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Indy -
This just seems like a middle of the road, average Midwestern city. Nothing bad, nothing great. Brand recognition? Um, Peyton Manning... Wait, nevermind. On a serious note, definitely college bball. While the corporate presence isn't on the same level as STL or KC, the economy is supposed to be performing solidly above average in the Indy. And I have heard positive things about the downtown area. Academia is lacking however. At least Indy has the state capitol. That is a strong plus. Skyline is decent
You hit the nail on the head with your comments above!
Regarding Indy 500, I used to be a huge car racing fan back when I was in Brazil, but then when Senna died in that accident, I lost my enthusiasm. It was very sad. F1 race is way more popular worldwide compared to Indy car series, don't get me started. Nevertheless, when I moved to Indy I was excited about having the F1 and Indy 500 to watch, but that year F1 stopped bringing the race to Indy. There was much speculation about what caused F1 administration to quit Indy but it was clear that it had not been profitable or anywhere near the margin they wanted compared to the races in other countries.
Pacer issues stems from its recent past. Ron Artest brawl in Detroit followed by several high profile incidents from players in nightclubs and such, including guns. That doesn't sit well out here where the players can do and act anyway they deem fit. Those players are gone but it's taking more time for the fanbase to return to the point of attending the games. Those types of incidents took a toll on the Pacers and fan support and sadly they have to rebuild it.
Thanks. I didn't realize that was still lingering.
You hit the nail on the head with your comments above!
Regarding Indy 500, I used to be a huge car racing fan back when I was in Brazil, but then when Senna died in that accident, I lost my enthusiasm. It was very sad. F1 race is way more popular worldwide compared to Indy car series, don't get me started. Nevertheless, when I moved to Indy I was excited about having the F1 and Indy 500 to watch, but that year F1 stopped bringing the race to Indy. There was much speculation about what caused F1 administration to quit Indy but it was clear that it had not been profitable or anywhere near the margin they wanted compared to the races in other countries.
F1 is back to the US, in Texas now since I don’t think they are willing to come back to Indy…
The Indy F1 race, even in its final year, had the highest attendance of any race on the circuit.
Reportedly Ecclestone demanded a $30 million sactioning fee to renew the deal with Indy. F1 still would've kept all advertising/TV revenue and wouldn't assist IMS with promoting the race. IMS told him to stick it. Austin will soon find out what a jerk Bernie is.
People will always talk about Chicago. You hear enough flack about Detroit and Cleveland. You hear a lot of "debate" about Minneapolis.
So, of the less discussed and slightly smaller metro areas, Kansas City, Saint Louis, Omaha, Indianapolis, which one is the best mix of overall QOL aspects and a brighter future. Please take the poll and explain your answer.
1. St Louis 2. Kansas City 3. Omaha
Haven't been to Indianpolis IN....St. Louis is getting ready to crack the (3 Million barrier) (GDP of 116 Billion) compared to KCMO 91 Billion...lots of venues and attraction that KCMO and Omaha doesn't have.
Haven't been to Indianpolis IN....St. Louis is getting ready to crack the (3 Million barrier) (GDP of 116 Billion) compared to KCMO 91 Billion...lots of venues and attraction that KCMO and Omaha doesn't have.
St. Louis is larger, it's supposed to have a higher gross GDP. KCMO has the better local economy though once you take the per capita real gdp.
St. Louis is larger, it's supposed to have a higher gross GDP. KCMO has the better local economy though once you take the per capita real gdp.
Of course I agree with everything that you said , but why keep ranking these smaller cities with larger cities , and blasting the 'larger cities " for coming out on top because 'they are larger" if people want to compare another city against St. Louis make sure that it has around 3 Million Pop.
St. Louis also has NFL....NHL...MLB...of the Top Tier Major League Sports Leagues...whereas INDY NFL...NBA....and KCMO NFL...MLB...
Just to add fuel to the fire. KC has MLS and StL is about to lose their NFL team .
Also, I'm no race fan, but if you are going to include the racetrack in Indy, than why not KC? They have a major nascar track, one of only a few that has two sprint races.
This doesn't change much. I mean, StL is a larger city and offers more than KC does IMO, but KC can compete with StL and is much closer to STL than Indy is.
Omaha is the oddball of these four cities. It's like a mini KC so it's nice enough, but it in no way compares to KC or StL or even Indy as far as culture, amenities, built urban environment etc.
I have never been to Omaha, but I know very little about it.
I have never been to Kansas City, but I know very little about it.
I have been to St. Louis twice, and know little about it.
I have lived in Indianapolis and the metro area for 26 years.
I didn't vote on this poll for those 4 reasons.
But here is what I will say:
No other city, not even New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc., has as much going on downtown as Indianapolis.
Let me rephrase that. There is no place in the country where you can get so much variety in one (1) square mile, as you can in Indianapolis. From a thread I started: https://www.city-data.com/forum/gener...-isnt-one.html
Here is an excerpt:
"As far as giving streets that make up a square mile boundry, I will say Indianapolis.
What is located on, or inside the boundaries of North St., East St., South St., and West St. can provide pretty much anything you could want:
Restaurants
Shopping
Hotels
Monuments & Memorials
Parks
Eiteljorg Museum
Start of the IUPUI campus
Convention Center
State Capitol building
Churches
Victory Field (baseball)
Conseco Fieldhouse (basketball)
Lucas Oil Stadium (football)
Union Station (Amtrack/Greyhound)
The Murat (great concert venue)
Mass Ave. (part of it)
The Canal Walk (part of it)
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra"
Where else in America can you walk from a Pro Basketball arena, to a Pro Football arena, to a (albeit minor league) baseball stadium, in less than 30 minutes?
Nowhere. That's where. Except Indianapolis.
One square mile of NYC doesn't offer the variety that Indy does in one square mile. Neither does Chicago. Or L.A. Or any other place for that matter. Downtown Indianapolis beats the hell out of other cities in terms of variety in a single, lonely, square mile. Quantity is a metric that Indy fails at, though, and I don't foresee it getting better in the near future. My honest opinion and assessment.
Once Indianapolis is measured beyond that one (1) square mile, it reaches a point of diminishing returns, so to speak.
I think, my own personal opinion, if Indy had a comprehensive rail and bus system in place, would be that this wouldn't even be up for discussion. Indy would beat out the competition, hands down. But because the city is so car orientated, it is knocked down a few pegs from where it should be, all things considered. St. Louis is the closest, in my mind at least, simply because it has rail and practical bus routes in place.
But then looking at where Indianapolis is in relation to the other cities mentioned in this poll, it wins on location in relation to other places of interest.
5 hours from Indianapolis puts you in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland (just over 5 hours), Columbus, Detroit, Louisville, Milwaukee, Nashville, and St. Louis. The other cities on this poll don't have the proximity to other places like Indianapolis does. The point being, in Indianapolis you are a day trip away from 9 fairly significant metros in the United States when you get tired of the Circle City.
St. Louis? Not so much. Kansas City? Even less so. Omaha? I like 311, so that's like a Mecca, right? :roll eyes:
Sidenote: Indianapolis is not the first city in the North to be on the Super Bowl rotation list. Some people are over zealous and like to count chickens before they hatch... And those same people don't even own or live on the farm in which said chickens might hatch.
No other city, not even New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc., has as much going on downtown as Indianapolis....
Umm, you lost me after that. You are not serious are you? And who cares if you can walk from one big empty stadium and their respective dead footprint zones to another? Do you go to NBA and NFL and minor league baseball stadiums in the same day? Weird way to defend Indy.
Not to mention there are many cities with a lot more than an NBA and NFL facility with a thirty minute walk.
You can start with one of the cities being discussed in this thread which has a 47k seat MLB stadium, not some little bush league minor league park.
I’m still laughing that you consider a giant empty NFL stadium as something people want to walk to when visiting a city. You go to those for games. That's it. And they are rarely used, so they are giant dead zones of inactiviy 99% of the time.
Umm, you lost me after that. You are not serious are you? And who cares if you can walk from one big empty stadium to another? Do you go to NBA and NFL and minor league baseball stadiums in the same day? Weird way to defend Indy.
Not to mention there are many cities with a lot more than an NBA and NFL facility with a thirty minute walk.
You can start with one of the cities being discussed in this thread.
I think you need to get out more.
If the cards were dealt right, you could utilize all those venues in a single weekend... I'm not sure about a single day.
Did you read what is within that little ol' one (1) square mile that is in Downtown Indy? Much more than "empty stadiums".
NYC can't offer the variety that Indy does in one square mile. Neither can L.A., or Chicago.
On the whole Indianapolis doesn't compete with the "big cities", but for downtown, its probably the most variety you can get in such a compact area anywhere in the U.S.
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