Lucas Tops Off Super Bowl Bid With Cool $1 Million

INDIANAPOLIS -- The namesake of Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday kicked in the final $1 million needed to fund Indianapolis' bid to host the 2012 Super Bowl.

Forrest Lucas agreed to top off the contributions of 100 organizations to make the city's bid viable, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported.

Lucas previously committed $122 million for the stadium's naming rights and hopes that the city can be in the spotlight in the NFL's biggest game.

"I probably have more to gain as a businessman than anybody else that has contributed to it," Lucas said. "Naturally, I should be the one who should do it. So, it was a no-brainer to me."

Six of 100 contributors promised $1 million or more to aid Indianapolis' Super Bowl aspirations. In all, the city reached its goal of $25 million with contributions that ranged from $5,000 to $2.5 million.

"It's obvious that the corporate community has stepped up to the plate again for the second straight year, which is unprecedented, and I applaud them for that," said Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.

Last year, Indianapolis fell short in its bid to host the 2011 Super Bowl when the game was awarded to Dallas.

Mark Miles, head of Indianapolis' organizing committee said he doesn't again want to see the long faces that marked last year's narrow defeat.

The NFL generally prefers the game be in a warm-weather city, so Indianapolis threw some wrinkles into its bid to make the cold weather climate more palatable.

"When you see the plans for the village, you will see that while it is not weatherproof, there are some very creative and interesting ideas about how to provide some shelter and make it a very entertaining environment," Miles said.

The specific contents of the bid are a closely guarded secret for competitive reasons. Officials expect to know by Tuesday afternoon if Indianapolis will host the game. Houston and Phoenix also hope to win the bid.