154 ◾ Sports Finance and Management
event, the Indianapolis 500. ere are, of course, other college teams in the region
and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts more than one race each year.
Both of Indianapolis’ major professional teams have also encountered “troughs”
where ticket sales slumped in response to poor performance. In the early 1990s, the
Colts were the region’s second team behind the Pacers, who were enjoying repeated
runs for the Eastern Division championship in the NBA. In 2000, the Pacers lost
in the NBA Finals. During the past several years, the Pacers’competitiveness has
declined and so has ticket sales while the popularity of the Colts has soared. e
Colts’ leadership well understands the issues associated with a long ...