Indianapolis, IN

Indiana did not see an influx of traffic on solar eclipse day like predicted. What happened?

Published

8 months ago

April 13, 2024

Indiana did not see an influx of traffic on solar eclipse day like predicted. What happened?

Indiana State Police expected thousands of visitors to view the total solar eclipse. Governor Eric Holcomb even signed and emergency order. But the state didn’t see nearly the number of tourists expected.

The April 8 solar eclipse was predicted to be big day for Indiana tourism, and while in many ways it still was, the crowds were not what local officials predicted.

Here’s what happened during the 2024 total solar eclipse.

Read more from the Herald-Times: Eclipse day was sunny in Indiana. Where were the crowds?

Bloomington’s numbers were lower than expected

Instead of 300,000 spectators, as multiple officials projected, Bloomington saw tens of thousands, according to early estimates, The Herlad-Times reported.

While the smaller-than-expected crowds enabled the city to escape snarled traffic, the overestimates also kept some Bloomington residents from leaving their homes and attending the local events, including those at Switchyard Park and Memorial Stadium.

At the Bloomington Police Department, officers of all ranks were scheduled to work 12-hour shifts. But they were cut to 10 hours as the day progressed and the anticipated crowds failed to appear.

Nashville also saw lower numbers than predicted

Between 50,000 and 100,000 eclipse viewers were expected in Nashville and Brown County, an estimated 20,000 showed up.

Indianapolis saw the most tourists, but still lower than estimated

Indiana State Police told IndyStar in March they were expecting about as much traffic for the eclipse as the city sees for the Indy 500, which can be anywhere from 200,000 to 250,000 visitors.

Clare Clark, senior communications manager for Visit Indy, confirmed that Indianapolis welcomed 125,000 visitors for the eclipse, with representation from all 50 states and 35 countries.

Why was solar eclipse viewing attendance lower than expected?

According to NASA, the path of totality for this year’s eclipse was between 108 and 122 miles wide, or about 72% wider, at the high end, than the eclipse in 2017. This year, about 31.6 million people lived in the path of totality, compared with 12 million in 2017.

The eclipse this year also passed over “more cities and densely populated areas” than in 2017, NASA said.

That meant people had more options as to where to travel, reducing the likelihood of congestion for any particular area.

Several Indiana cities had reported chances of cloud cover during the eclipse, which may have also been a reason less tourists came to Indiana, but neither Indianapolis or Bloomington ended up having any clouds block the view of the solar event.

Schools being closed for the day also helped reduce normal traffic in cities.

Local events, tourism still saw success despite fewer visitors than planned

Despite getting fewer visitors than planned, several cities in the state still saw great success.

Airbnb said Indianapolis was the #1 most booked destination within the path of totality and there was a virtual sell-out of hotel rooms on Sunday night ahead of the eclipse, Visit Indy said.

Visit Indy also broke their record for the most website traffic in a single day on the day of the eclipse, meaning tourists and locals were looking for things to do.

Mike McAfee, executive director of Visit Bloomington, said hotels and short-term rentals were “near capacity,” though he won’t have final data until later this month.

IU spokesman Mark Bode said the university hosted “tens of thousands of visitors and students across at least seven separate events,” including “nearly 10,000” at Memorial Stadium.

Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.

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Indianapolis, IN

Colts vs Titans TV coverage map in NFL Week 16

Published

8 minutes ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Colts vs Titans TV coverage map in NFL Week 16

The Indianapolis Colts host the Tennessee Titans in NFL Week 16 action as the Colts try to remain in the AFC playoff race.

The CBS game will be shown in only the Indianapolis and Nashville NFL markets. It will also air in much of Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee, and in parts of Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

When do the Colts play the Titans in NFL Week 16?

1 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

How to watch Colts vs Titans in NFL Week 16

CBS, with Tom McCarthy (play-by-play), and Ross Tucker and Jay Feely (analysis).

How to stream, watch Titans-Colts game for NFL Week 16

The Colts-Broncos matchup will stream on Paramount+ at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. The app is available in the Apple App Store or on Google Play. Fans can also download NFL+ in the Apple App Store or on Google Play.

Colts 2024 schedule

all times ET

Sept. 8: Texans 29, Colts 27

Sept. 15: Packers 16, Colts 10

Sept. 22: Colts 21, Bears 16

Sept. 29: Colts 27, Steelers 24

Oct. 6: Jaguars 37, Colts 34

Oct. 13: Colts 20, Titans 17

Oct. 20: Colts 16, Dolphins 10

Oct. 27: Texans 23, Colts 20

Nov. 3: Vikings 21, Colts 13

Nov. 10: Bills 30, Colts 20

Nov. 17: Colts 28, Jets 27

Nov. 24: Lions 24, Colts 6

Dec. 1: Colts 25, Patriots 24

Dec. 15: Broncos 31, Colts 13

Dec. 22: vs. Tennessee, 1 p.m., CBS

Dec. 29: at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m., Fox

Jan. 5: vs. Jacksonville, TBD

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Indianapolis, IN

Analyst Predicts Close Call Between Titans, Colts

Published

8 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Analyst Predicts Close Call Between Titans, Colts

The Tennessee Titans may be out of the playoff picture, but they find themselves in a big game against their AFC South rival Indianapolis Colts.

The Titans can play spoiler for the Colts, who need to win to hold onto their faint playoff hopes, by eliminating them from playoff contention in a win.

However, CBS Sports writer Pete Prisco doesn’t believe that will end up being the case. He predicts that the Colts will pull out a 24-17 win against the Titans.

“The Colts are alive in the playoff race — barely. The Titans are done and might be making a quarterback change. The Colts did some good things in losing to the Broncos last week in a game they should have won. They bounce back here. Colts take it,” Prisco writes.

The Titans are certainly an underdog considering the fact that they are on the road and have won only three games all year long.

However, we have seen how difficult it can be for divisional opponents to sweep a season series, and the Colts came away with the win when the two teams met in Nashville during Week 6.

The Titans are coming into the game with a massive chip on their shoulder and a new source of energy with Mason Rudolph taking over as the starting quarterback after Will Levis was demoted earlier in the week.

The Titans have the ingredients necessary for a win against the Colts, but they still have to execute their plan in order to leave Indy on a happy flight home to Tennessee.

The Titans and Colts are set to kickoff at 12 noon CT tomorrow inside Lucas Oil Stadium. The game can be watched on CBS or streamed on Paramount+.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Indianapolis, IN

Colts’ Most Crucial X-Factors for Titans Clash

Published

16 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Colts’ Most Crucial X-Factors for Titans Clash

The Indianapolis Colts (6-8) are prepped for an AFC South clash at home against the Tennessee Titans (3-11), with still plenty on the line. If the Colts win this game, their slim playoff hopes stay alive at 15%. However, a loss destroys every probability of this happening, dropping Shane Steichen’s troops to 1% (NFL.com).

What this means is Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor, and the offensive line must operate better than against the Denver Broncos, but the defense and Gus Bradley must carry over their performance at Mile High.

With Indy’s 15th game nearly here, these are the two X-Factors for the offense and defense (minus Richardson) most crucial to Indianapolis walking out of Lucas Oil with their seventh win on the season and with postseason aspirations still breathing.

Offense | Josh Downs

Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (all-white uniform) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Jets (green uniform).

Nov 17, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (1) celebrates his touchdown against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Colts’ second-year wide receiver Josh Downs has emerged as the most reliable target for Steichen’s offense throughout 2024. The former North Carolina Tarheel has reeled 56 catches on 86 targets for 626 receiving yards (11.2 average) and four touchdowns.

After being sidelined with a shoulder injury, Downs is ready to bounce back from his underwhelming three-catch, 32-yard performance at Mile High. The Titans are a gritty defense, and Downs will face off against Tennessee’s slot cornerback Roger McCreary. Downs dominated in the first meeting, catching seven of nine targets from Joe Flacco for 66 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Expect Richardson to look Downs’ way often, especially considering that Alec Pierce (concussion) won’t suit up for this one. While Michael Pittman Jr. and AD Mitchell will get their fair share of throws, Downs is the safety blanket and most reliable pass-catcher.

The Colts have to get Richardson into a rhythm throwing the football to help the young field general over the 50% completion hump; the best way to do that since there’s nearly no tight end receiving production is getting Downs the football. Expect at least eight-plus targets for Downs on Sunday.

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Defense | Laiatu Latu

Colts' defensive end Laiatu Latu (all-white uniform) gets ready to try and get past an offensive lineman.

Nov 17, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets offensive tackle Olu Fashanu (74) blocks against Indianapolis Colts defensive end Laiatu Latu (97) during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

After a rocky start to his rookie campaign, the Colts’ rookie 15th overall selection Laiatu Latu is finding his footing in the NFL. Along with Kwity Paye, the two have combined for 10 sacks, with Latu accounting for four. Latu also has Pro Football Focus grades of 72.7 overall, 72.9 pass-rush, and 64.3 run. While the last can improve, Latu is getting to where he needs to be under Charlie Partridge.

Against the Titans, Latu will have a chance to feast on a struggling Tennessee offensive line. The Titans’ protection ranks 28th in Pro Football Focus team grades for pass-blocking (56.6), so there’s areas where Latu can exploit.

While offensive tackle JC Latham has an acceptable pass-blocking grade (66.8), he’s second on Tennessee in pressures allowed (37) behind only fellow tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere (39). Latu has a chance to wreck Mason Rudolph with constant pressures that might lead to opportunities for sacks. For the year, the former UCLA Bruin has 34 pressures and will have a clear path to success against Latham and Petit-Frere.

Expect Latu to have a field day when taking snaps against Tennessee on Sunday, with a great chance at a sack or more.

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