First time to Indy

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are contemplating a little trip to Indy the second weekend of August (13-16 to be exact). We would like to go to the Colts/Vikings pre-season game whenever that officially gets scheduled and I am wondering when tickets will go on sale? I know up here in Minnesota we can get pre-season tickets for very cheap... except for me (I%26#39;m a season ticket holder and get forced to pay full price but anyways). Is that the case for the Colts? My wife is a big Colts fan and I am a huge Vikings fan so I thought it would be a fun experience for the both of us... even though there is nothing more boring than pre-season football!

We also are hoping to take a little day trip to Cincinnati to check out the Reds play some ball.

Finally... what exactly is there to do in Indy? Where should we stay? We would like to do things as cheap as possible but still have a good time. Any help would be greatly apprecaited. Thanks!

First time to Indy

LV: Can%26#39;t help you much on the Colts pre-season details, but there are some good hotel options downtown and really quite a bit to do. Indy is stinking hot in mid-August, as I%26#39;m sure you are aware. Among higher cost hotels downtown that are close to the football stadium are the Conrad, Marriott, Westin, Hyatt, Hilton, Omni, Canterbury, Embassy Suites, Sheraton, and Crowne Plaza. Next tier are Courtyard, Ramada, Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, Days Inn, Homewood Suites, Residence Inn, Hilton Garden Inn. I can personally recommend the Westin, Conrad, and Marriott as good places. There%26#39;s also the Columbia Club, which is a grand old building directly on Monument Circle that is part private club and part hotel. If you are willing to stay out in the suburbs and drive downtown, there are more options like Drury Inn and Suites and others at probably much better prices.

As far as stuff to do, there%26#39;s shopping at the Circle Centre Mall, tons of restaurants, shops and clubs on Mass Ave, the state museum, the NCAA museum, the war memorial, Eiteljorg musueum of american indian art, Indiana Historical Society museum, theater, minor league baseball, WNBA basketball, the Indy Zoo (which I don%26#39;t recommend). That%26#39;s just downtown. The Indiana State Fair will also be happening during that time. The Indpls museum of art and Indy Motor Speedway Hall of Fame museum are a short car drive. If you have young children -- which it sounds like you don%26#39;t -- the Children%26#39; Museum is the best in the nation. Broad Ripple is the big bar-hopping area.

Anyway, that%26#39;s a few ideas. There%26#39;s more than a enough to do to fill a few days.

If you are planning to go to Cincy, it is less than 2 hours from Indy and in my opinion is one of the most fantastic cities in America, with millions of things to do.

First time to Indy

I believe the Colts are sold out and like you the season ticket holders have to pay full price, HOWEVER, there are usually plenty of tickets on the street from either season ticket holders who don%26#39;t want to go and are trying to recoup some money or from scalpers. Don%26#39;t be surprised if oyu don%26#39;t find a good seat for $25 or less OR check out a ticket broker at places like STUBHUB to have tix in hand before coming to Indy. The new Lucas Oil Stadium s spectacular. Cincy is an easy two hour or less drive and The Great American Ballpark is nice also. If you fall in love with Indy and don%26#39;t want to make the drive to Cincy, the Indianapolis Indians (AAA affiliate of the Pit Pirates) might be in town. Victory Field has been voted the best minor league ballpark for about the last 4 years. Prices for those games are very reasonable, but it%26#39;s notquite the same as the majors, especially since the Reds WILL be in contention for the NL Central (sorrow Cub fans). As far as things in Indy, what do you like to do, what type of food do you enjoy, etc? etc??

Guess I should have said that staying downtown wold be the best, more convenient, but a little more expensive. Staying out farther from downtown will save money and you can find nice places to stay within 15 min or less to dwontown. Parking is usually no problem in Indy.

Lots of good hotels downtown to choose from. Check early for reservations. Indainapolis has lots of big conventions in the summer months. So the hotels could fill up quickly. I recommend seeing a baseball game at Victory Field. Reasonable prices and great place to watch a game. Cincy is also a great city downtown area. Parking is much more difficult in Cincy than in Indy. Reds tickets are not cheap anymore. Stub hub would be the way to go for Colts tickets. I would not trust buying tickets off the street.

Buying tickets on the street outside the stadium is fine, most selling them during pre season are season ticket holders that have extras. My husband used to sell his tickets all the time, sometimes he%26#39;d even give them away for pre season games.

Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn would be two good places to try for rooms that won%26#39;t break the bank.

This talk of football is making me homesick for Indianapolis and I was just there a couple of weeks ago!

Hey GABBY, hate to make you feel bad about football talk, BUT, May in Indy is coming up fast, 500!!!

I just read in the newspaper that the annual Gen Con meeting with 28,000 gamers and science fiction buffs will be in Indy Aug 13-16. The group is essentially taking over the convention center and surrounding hotel meeting space downtown, which of course we LOVE! But I%26#39;m guessing that getting housing especially downtown during that period will be a little dicey . . . at least if you%26#39;re not making arrangements through the Gen Con association. So I would suggest getting your hotel pretty soon or you may run into sold out or inflated pricing situations.