By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – The fans watching the Indianapolis Colts practice at Grand Park on a beautiful Tuesday morning included several mayors from around Indiana.
The mayors were guests for what has become an annual tradition at Colts Camp: The Mayor’s Breakfast event. They watched the team practice, ate breakfast, got some impromptu entertainment from Colts mascot Blue, and enjoyed being a football fan in a relaxed setting in open-air suites at the camp.
The group of mayors included a mayor-elect. Scott Willis will become the mayor of Westfield on Jan. 1, 2024, and although he is busy getting ready to make the transition to public office, Willis managed to get to the Colts Camp with his family for the third time this season.
“It’s been amazing,” said Willis. “We had huge turnouts the first year, but it seems like every year it just gets bigger and bigger. The Colts have done an amazing job of bringing in Colts City and having events for kids. I know my kids enjoy coming.”
Priceless moments
Willis remembers a couple years ago when his children got in line to get an autograph from now-retired Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.
“These are just moments that you share with your family that are priceless,” said Willis. “You don’t get that anywhere else.”
Willis and the current Westfield mayor, Andy Cook, got a chance to chat during the Mayor’s Breakfast. Cook, of course, was here when the Colts Camp moved to Grand Park in 2018. He said that next year he will be at the camp as “a citizen,” but Cook will be back.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I will be watching very closely. But we’ve got some great people coming on board. Scott Willis is going to do a wonderful job.”
Westfield and Grand Park have also done a wonderful job in working with the Colts since they came to town. Cook said the goal has always been to work with the Colts to make it the “premier NFL pre-season camp” in the entire league.
“The Colts tell me ‘We’re there,’” said Cook. “And they are so proud of this facility. It’s really a very rewarding joint venture between government and private enterprise because we all contribute to the facilities you see here. Three years ago, the Colts put almost a million dollars of their money into our property. That’s they kind of relationship that we’ve developed.”
Cook said one of the rewarding things about bringing Colts Camp to Westfield is to “watch all these little kids out there” attending the camp. Kids have many opportunities for fun at the camp, with the Colts City area, and getting autographs from players. Cook said the kids “come out here, their eyes are as big as saucers and they’re just having a ball. That is one of the most incredible things about Colts Camp.”
The mayors that attended the event came from all across the state, and there was one from right next door, Noblesville mayor Chris Jensen.
Regional asset
“Andy Cook and Westfield and the entire team, the Colts have really perfected the customer experience here,” said Jense. “I think it’s awesome to have mayors from across the state. Surely I’d love them in Noblesville, but it’s great to have them in Hamilton County, and Grand Park and the Colts are a huge addition to this community. And it’s a perfect week to have them here.”
Jensen
Jensen thinks of Grand Park as a regional asset, noting that the impact from the facility spreads into other cities beyond Westfield.
“I think every city in Hamilton County is benefitting directly from Grand Park whether it be direct spending in their community, whether it’s heads in beds,” said Jensen. “But this is an absolute regional asset. I think we’re getting better as a state of talking about regional assets. And Grand Park is certainly one that we all benefit from in Hamilton County and even beyond Hamilton County.”
Several mayors from northern Indiana came to the event, including those from Columbia City, Mishawaka, Hobart, and Mayor Mark Senter of Plymouth.
“I grew up here in Indianapolis and I was a born-and-bred Colts fan when they moved up here in ’84,” said Menter. “Love to see these guys.”
Mishawaka mayor David Wood (left) talks with Plymouth mayor Mark Senter, who said the Northern Indiana mayors are a very close-knit group. (Richie Hall)
One big team
Menter was seen talking with his counterparts from the northern part of the state. He said the mayors from that area are a “very close-knit group,” and there is an organization called Northern Indiana Mayors Roundtable, and get together once a month to share stories.
“No matter what size you are or what part you are, we’re on one big team,” said Menter.
Westfield is happy to welcome the state’s other mayors to that team, showing them a city that is putting itself on the map outside of Indiana as well.
“I just think it’s a great opportunity to showcase Westfield and showcase Grand Park. We’re always excited to announce an event that the Colts put on every year and we’re excited to host it and be a part of that. We like to show off our city.
“It’s given us an identity,” said Willis. “For example, I recently retired from the Marine Corps and I was in Alabama for a training event and I was talking to a resident at a restaurant, and they said ‘Where are you from?’ I said ‘Well, I’m from Westfield, Indiana. It’s a suburb of Indianapolis.’ ‘Oh, yeah! We’ve been there, our kids play soccer.’ We are on the map now because of Grand Park and it’s been a great branding tool for our city.”
The mayors weren’t the only guests in the Colts Camp suites on Tuesday. Representatives from Citizens Energy Group were also there, as well as some from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is gearing up for Brickyard Weekend in a few days.
Columbia City mayor Ryan Daniel watches a practice. (Richie Hall)
“Several different companies are bringing people in, really from a lot of different locations outside of Indianapolis are bringing people, and that’s huge exposure for Grand Park,” said Cook.
And with Grand Park getting the exposure, the other cities of Hamilton County are in the line of sight as well.
“Having the Colts here, having the Pacers G League team in Noblesville, I think it’s starting to show that these mega professional sports teams that had for a long time solely called Indianapolis home are realizing the benefit of regional opportunity,” said Jensen. “And I think customers are benefitting from that by being able to have different options in which to go see their professional sports teams.”
Jensen also points out that Indianapolis will continue to be strong – “we personally can’t be a suburb of nothing,” he said. The mayor said that Indianapolis will continue to be a regional and national hub for tourism and conventions.
“But we would not be doing our job if we did not take advantage of those opportunities and make us a regional player and a regional asset for Central Indiana,” said Jensen. “I think Hamilton County is primed for that opportunity.”