It took two tries for Indianapolis to win the hosting gig for a Super Bowl. The city sent in bids in 2007 and 2008, with the city winning the 2008 bid to host the 2012 Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Stadium. To accommodate the expected 100,000 people for the big game, the city needed to boost hotel room capacity. That boost came in the form of the $450 million, seven-acre Marriott Place Indianapolis development — a new 34-story, 40,500-sq.-ft. JW Marriott Indianapolis, the 297-room Courtyard by Marriott, the 156-room Springhill Suites, and the 168-room Fairfield Inn and Suites. (The city is considering submitting a bid proposal for the 2018 Super Bowl.)
Hotel development and management company White Lodging is the franchisee owner of the four hotels. While the development’s concept was created before the recession, White Lodging decided to go ahead with the project. At the time it was built, the JW Marriott Indianapolis was not only the largest hotel in Indianapolis, it was the largest JW Marriott in the world — 1,005 guest rooms, 104,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and the Midwest’s largest ballroom at 40,500 sq. ft.
