![\"omni-severin-indianapolis-jobs-images](\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2014\/01\/omni-severin-indianapolis-jobs-images-1.jpg\")
<\/a>The game itself was held indoors at Lucas Oil Stadium, which serves as home to the NFL\u2019s 2006 World Champion Colts and hosted the 2012 Super Bowl. I used my elegant, spacious corner room at the historic Omni Severin Hotel to host a pre-game \u201ctailgate\u201d party. The Omni\u2019s colorful atrium lobby and creative Wine Thief bar were full of excited fans. From the cozy balcony of the seventh floor we could look right into the stadium, hear the revelers outside, and easily walk across the street to the game seconds before kickoff.<\/p>\nThere is a reason downtown Indianapolis feels like a college campus or an amusement park, according to Gahl. \u201c30 years ago city leaders decided to use the annual Indianapolis 500 as a base to attract other big sporting events and sports tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n
The civic strategy has been wildly successful, drawing the NCAA Basketball Final Four seven times (including MSU basketball\u2019s championship win in 2000 and a semi-final loss in 2010), and the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Big Ten Basketball Tournaments, which return to Banker\u2019s Life Fieldhouse (where the Indiana Pacers play) March 6-9 and March 13-16 respectively. The NCAA itself is now headquartered in Indy. Summers in Indy have included golf\u2019s PGA Championship, U.S. Women\u2019s Open, and Solheim Cup, not to mention a charming zoo and plenty of riverfront greenspace.<\/p>\n
Downtown is full of fine and fun dining, the monarch of which is the 110-year-old St. Elmo\u2019s Steakhouse, famous for bone-in steaks and the biggest, baddest shrimp cocktail in America. Our waiter said, upon being hired, he\u2019d been given a three-hour written exam about the restaurant, its\u2019 history, menu and service standards before ever picking up a tray. Capitol Grill, and Ruth\u2019s Chris vie for the overflow steakhouse crowd. A unique weekend breakfast is \u201cKegs and Eggs,\u201d right back at the Omni\u2019s Severin Bar, where you can sample locally crafted beer for $3 and build your own Bloody Mary for $5 per to go with your pork roll, benny bun, or breakfast taco.<\/p>\n
For more information, call the Omni at (317) 634-6664 or log on to www.VisitIndy.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Michigan-based travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at InviteYourself@aol.com<\/a> or via www.TravelTattler.com<\/a> His morning show is heard weekday mornings in Lansing on 92.1 FM.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"