Indianapolis, IN
New sports bar Tom’s Watch opens in downtown Indianapolis – Indianapolis Business Journal
A new sports entertainment concept is hoping to enhance Indianapolis’ growing sports scene by providing another place for fans to gather.
Tom’s Watch Bar opened Dec. 2 at 140 S. Illinois St., just north of Georgia Street and less than two blocks from the Indiana Convention Center. IBJ first reported on Tom’s plans to open an Indianapolis franchise in June.
The space in the base of a Circle Center Mall garage opened in 1997 as a Planet Hollywood location, followed in 2000 by Ram Restaurant & Brewery and in 2021 by Goodwood Brewing & Spirits.
The 10,000-square-foot space features 135 screens as well as a full food and drink menu. Tom’s Watch Bar’s menu includes a variety of options from nachos to an ahi tuna tower and lobster and shrimp mac and cheese.
“We realized that the status quo of most sports bars were really kind of old and dated,” Tom’s Watch Bar co-founder Tom Ryan said. “You know, lots of pennants, lots of sticky floors, lots of $3 beers … we decided to kind of recreate sports bars for the next generation of sports enthusiasts. We view ourselves as a viewing-based sports entertainment concept that does elevated food and drink but really caters to very social occasions for people.”
Indianapolis is the 13th Tom’s Watch Bar location. Visitors can tune in to a variety of games or attend a “screen takeover” event in which each screen will show a major sporting event. Ryan told Inside INdiana Business his team took note of Indianapolis’ strong sports enthusiasm and fan base.
“We think Indianapolis is going to be a great spot for us given the Fever and given the Pacers and given the Colts…[and] the affinity for key colleges in and around the Indianapolis area, whether they’re Big Ten or not. All of that richness is there, and we’re aware of it,” Ryan said.
The Indiana Sports Corp unveiled its 2050 Vision earlier this year, and one of its goals is to be among the top three sports event host cities in the U.S.
Ryan says he hopes Tom’s Watch Bar will be a space for fans to gather when they don’t get a ticket for an event but still want a gameday experience. The restaurant hopes to partner with universities, teams and alumni associations who can use the private event space.
In 2025, Indiana will welcome WWE’s Royal Rumble, the men’s and women’s Big Ten Conference basketball tournaments and more.
The Green Bay Packers have acquired LB Zaire Franklin in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for DL Colby Wooden. Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the transaction Wednesday.
(ZI-air) Franklin (6-0, 235), a ninth-year player out of Syracuse University, was originally selected by the Colts in the seventh round (No. 235 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. He played in 132 games with 82 starts for Indianapolis from 2018-25, recording 707 tackles (395 solo), 34 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, 26 passes defensed, three interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Franklin also registered 31 special teams stops and a blocked punt with the Colts. The six-time team captain (2020-25) led the league with 173 tackles (93 solo) and ranked No. 2 in the NFL with a career-high five forced fumbles in 2024, earning second-team All-Pro honors from The Associated Press as well as his first career Pro Bowl selection.
From 2022-25, Franklin led the NFL in tackles (643) and ranked No. 2 in solo tackles (364). Dating back to 2000 (per TruMedia), he is the only NFL player to register 600-plus tackles (643), 10-plus sacks (10) and 10-plus forced fumbles (11) over a four-season span (2022-25). Franklin finished in the top five in the NFL in tackles in three straight seasons (No. 4 in 2022, No. 2 in 2023, No. 1 in 2024), the only player in the league to accomplish that feat over that span. He posted 10-plus tackles in 34 games from 2022-25, the most in the NFL over that span and the most in Colts history. Franklin has missed just one game due to injury in his career and ranks No. 1 among NFL linebackers in games played (132) since 2018. He will wear No. 44 for the Packers.
Wooden, who was selected by the Packers in the fourth round (No. 116 overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft, played in 47 regular-season games with 17 starts for Green Bay in three seasons (2023-25), recording 87 tackles (45 solo), nine tackles for a loss, a half-sack, seven QB hits and three passes defensed. He also appeared in four postseason contests with one start for the Packers.
INDIANAPOLIS — A suspect was placed under arrest by the FBI at the Indianapolis International Airport on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the FBI Indianapolis said.
The official told WRTV the man was a suspect in a non-fatal shooting in Indianapolis that happened in the early hours of March 6, 2026.
The man, who the FBI says is a convicted felon, was first located in El Paso, Texas. He later flew to Denver, Colorado, where he boarded a plane to Indianapolis.
The FBI Indianapolis’ Violent Crimes Task Force took him into custody without incident as he deplaned in Indianapolis.
The FBI Indianapolis official added that the suspect was on federal supervised release for a previous drug trafficking case.
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Headlines
- TORNADO & HAIL THREAT NORTH THIS EVENING
- STORMS SINK SOUTH OVERNIGHT
- STORMY FOR THE WEDNESDAY MORNING COMMUTE
Severe weather will be possible for some this evening in northern locations. Most of central Indiana will remain storm-free until after midnight. The rare (for Indiana) Moderate Risk has been issued for far northwestern parts of the state this evening. Super-cell storms are expected to develop and move northeast along a cold front. Strong tornadoes will be possible, as well as very large hail, up to baseball size, in the most intense storms. The Moderate Risk is a threat level 4 out of 5.
WRTV
The best chance for the most severe storms this evening will be north of a line from Lafayette to Hartford City. If you live in this area, be very weather aware this evening and have a plan in place with your family. South of that line, we likely won’t see much storm activity until after midnight. This is when the line will start to sink south. It will weaken as it does so, but severe weather will still be possible, as well as flooding from very heavy rain.
wrtv
Plan ahead for your Wednesday morning commute. Whether or not the storms are still severe, heavy rain is expected, and localized flooding will also be possible. The ground is very saturated from all the recent rain. Strong wind, hail, and even an isolated tornado will still be possible. The severe threat is just lower given the timing and how this will unfold in the weather setup.
WRTV
Once the rain ends and we start to clear out, temperatures will tumble.
WRTV
Indianapolis Weather Forecast:
This Evening: Severe storms north. Mostly cloudy elsewhere.
Overnight: Storms sink south. Low: 64°
Tomorrow: Stormy morning. Then drying out. Temps fall. High: 69°
Thursday: Mostly sunny. High: 49°
Indianapolis 7-Day Weather Forecast
WRTV
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