Indianapolis Lucas Oil Field, the home of Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, might be known as the house that Peyton Manning built, but there would have been no neighborhood in which to build Peyton’s house without William Hudnut. He put up the first home — the Hoosier Dome — and then invited the Baltimore Colts to live there nearly 30 years ago.
There is no Super Bowl in Indianapolis on Sunday without Hudnut, the mayor of this Midwest town from 1976 to 1992. This event is the culmination of the controversial work of a politician who saw the value of an NFL franchise to a minor league city and then had the guts to steal one from Baltimore when nobody was looking.
So this must be a satisfying week for Hudnut. But if you want to find him basking in the glow of this moment, you won’t find him here.
You will have to look in suburban Maryland — just a short drive from Baltimore, the city whose heart Hudnut tore out.
“When I think back to when we began trying to get an NFL team in Indianapolis in the late 1970s and the work we put in, to see the impact an event like this will have on Indianapolis is very satisfying,” Hudnut said, back home in Bethesda.
“We built the stadium without a franchise,” he said. “It was a huge political risk but one worth taking.”
The perfect reward for Hudnut, 79, would have been if the Colts were playing Sunday.
The second-best scenario for the former Indianapolis mayor? If the Ravens were playing.
Yes, Hudnut is a Baltimore Ravens fan — when they are not playing the Colts.
“I wanted the Ravens to beat the Patriots,” he said. “I am a fan.
“I was fond of the Colts. I used to live in Annapolis in the days of Johnny Unitas and Alan Ameche.”
But Hudnut makes no apologies for convincing owner Bob Irsay to move the beloved franchise out of town. His city wanted an NFL franchise to breath life into it. And at the time, the NFL wasn’t handing out football teams. You had to take one.
He took the Colts.
“I winced when it was Baltimore that was looking to move,” he said. “What am I supposed to do as the mayor of a city chasing economic development? Watch the river go by? I am going to jump in there and do what I can for my city.”
After four terms as mayor of Indianapolis, Hudnut came to Maryland to work at the Urban Land Institute in the District. He was mayor of Chevy Chase for a few years and now teaches real estate at Georgetown and does some consulting work.
He will be in Indianapolis on Sunday for the final validation of his work.
“It is very gratifying,” he said. “It’s the super icing on a super cake.”
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
