Larry Bird’s spotless hosting resume, an Indianapolis 500 vehicle, and an NBA All-Star game

Larry Bird’s spotless hosting resume, an Indianapolis 500 vehicle, and an NBA All-Star game

INDIA — The proposal book was meticulously developed by Indianapolis sports experts, city authorities, and Pacers executives. It was a spiral-bound notebook with more than a hundred pages and a glossy cover that looked like a hardwood basketball floor with the letters Indianapolis emphasized in the center.

The book, which was divided into tabs like “We Grow Basketball Here,” “Community Support Letters,” and “Hotel Information,” was Indianapolis’ appeal to the NBA in hopes of securing a future All-Star weekend.

Specification documents including various statistics and details about Lucas Oil Stadium and Bankers Life Fieldhouse were present. The plans for marketing, transportation, and IT support all broke down. There was some gloating about the city’s history of hosting major sporting events, including the 2012 Super Bowl, NFL Combines, NCAA Final Fours, and far too many titles in amateur sports to mention.

“We were given a request for proposals by them. We answered. “Every query was addressed and then some,” stated Leonard Hoops, the CEO and president of Visit Indy, an organization that participated in the bid process. ‘On top of what you’ve requested us to do?’ comprised an entire section, nevertheless. This is what else we’ll do.

The NBA was impressed by that “Enhancements” tab.

The basketball court at Indianapolis International Airport, the celebrations on Georgia Street, or the thousands of hand-knitted hats to be given to guests were all part of the bid that Indianapolis submitted to the league offices to host the NBA All-Star game, but none of them compared to the image of a towering 6-9 Indiana basketball legend packing his body into a tiny replica Indy car, driving through Manhattan, and personally delivering the city’s bid to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.