Goodbye Dome, Hello Debt

Dec 21, 2008
Rusty

 

I have to admit, seeing the Hoosier Dome come crashing down yesterday was really frickin cool. But I just can't understand why they wouldn't leave it up until after our 2012 Super Bowl. As part of the bid, we were required to show the existence of a professional quality facility at a reasonable distance from the game-field... which we're going to BUILD at Arsenal Tech? WTF? The dome was next door! And it was already there! Sure, having the Super Bowl is gonna be awesome, and it's gonna take a lot of money, but I just get an awful feeling we're gonna see the city leaders and Super Bowl Committee start pissing away money over the next couple years getting ready. It's a celebration of extravagance, but it's not an excuse to be inefficient with our money.

More: downtown, colts,

 

New Scotty's Brewhouse

Mar 2, 2009
Brian - Downtown

 

I went to the new Scotty's Brewhouse downtown on Sunday. I'd give it a "C", "B-" maybe. The place is absolutely gorgeous. What they've done (though it's not complete) with the side of the building amazing. It's gonna be one of the coolest buildings downtown when it's done. And the same with Scotty's patio. It'll definitely be one of the biggest if not the biggest patio in Indy. The inside is nice, the best thing about it is the overwhelming number of TVs. But there are a lot of places with all the games on that you could want, it takes a little more to really be a cool downtown spot.

 

First off, the service wasn't "unfriendly" but I wouldn't say it was exactly "friendly" either. I was the only person sitting at the bar, so the bartender should have been a lot more eager to talk, especially when I was asking questions about the place. It was almost like the staff was just out of place, not really mean or anything, but like they had been picked up and plopped down from one of the other locations... maybe Bloomington. There's just a certain attitude and feel you get from (the good) service industry staff. It's hard to place, but if you work or live down here, you know it when you see it. One bartender (and you know him too if you live here) is called "Speak". He's the perfect bartender, friendly, funny, fast, and knows how to make a drink. But it's not like I got bad service, just not the kind I'd expect from a place that just opened.

 

A couple of smaller complaints I had:

 

The dining area was a little crowded with tables. A table of four was sat right behind my back when there were plenty of other open tables, and I had to listen to their conversation the whole time... including a part about their dog's anti-diareah medicine (yes, while they were eating).

 

I'm not a fan of the huge hand towels instead of napkins. I mean, cloth napkins can be sophisticated and classy in a nice setting, but these things looked like friggin' beach towels! If it's a place with messy, sauce-slathered finger-foods, paper towels are fine.

 

And I guess I didn't really mind the American Top 40 with Rick Dees recording from 1993 playing over the speakers... but it was a little weird.

More: restaurants, downtown,

 

Sweet Sixteen

Mar 27, 2009
Jon - eastside

 

Watching the Kansas-Mich St. game on TV, I have a couple complaints. Am I not seeing how it makes sense to play in the Stadium instead of the Fieldhouse? The lower level isn't even filled up, so it looks bad on TV. And I don't think it's because the two teams don't have any fans, they're both not that far away. I think it's because Lucas Oil is just so damn big. Which means it's probably a lot more expensive to open up for an event (especially when it means turning the place into a completely different sporting venue). But who knows, maybe it's just to show off our new toy... I can live with that.

 

So my other complaint, who the hell is the obnoxious commentator? The guy's a complete nozzle! He's just vomiting nonsense. He's stepping all over the other announcer, his hyperbole is completely over-the-top, and I'm pretty sure I heard made-up words more than once.

 

It's a good thing I'm more interested in the UNC-Gonzaga game, I'm switching back to that... Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg don't make me want to pour bacon grease into my ears until I'm permanently deaf..... and delicious!

More: sports, downtown,