Game Time Change Leads to DH Day in Indianapolis

All week I planned to attend the Indianapolis Colts AFC Divisional Playoff game versus the Baltimore Ravens. Since that game did not start until 8:15 ET I wondered if there was another game I could attend earlier in the day. There was. The Pacers game had been rescheduled to 6 pm because of the playoff game at Lucas Oil Stadium. However, I knew that NBA games normally last between 2 hours and 15 minutes and 2 hours and 30 minutes. Thus, I did not think I could attend because I do not like to leave one game early in order to attend another game.

But then I read the statement on the Conseco Fieldhouse website which stated – “In order to accommodate fans wishing to attend both events, the Pacers have moved the start time for their Jan. 16 game against the New Orleans Hornets to 6 p.m. in Conseco Fieldhouse to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Colts' AFC playoff game that night at 8:15 p.m. in Lucas Oil Stadium. The Pacers-Hornets game was originally scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.”

If the Pacers truly wanted fans to attend both games they would have moved the start time to 5:30 pm and guarantee that fans could watch the entire Pacers game before leaving for the Colts game. However, they did not and I was still not convinced I could make both games until I arrived in Indianapolis and realized the drive between the Conseco Fieldhouse and Lucas Oil Stadium is only 2 minutes. The walk is between 7 and 8 minutes. With that knowledge, I planned to attend the New Orleans Hornets at Indiana Pacers game.

Parking for Two Games
Downtown Indianapolis is full of independent parking garages. However, on a day like this parking does not normally come cheap. I remembered driving by a parking lot when I attended the Pacers home opener that was only charging $3 for the game. Today that same lot (located on E. Washington St. east of N. Pennsylvania Ave.) was charging $3 and I did not have to leave until 2 am. This was a no-brainer as other lots in the area were charging a minimum of $10 and others were charging $20.

Obtaining Tickets for the Colts
Now I had one last major decision – should I buy my Colts playoff ticket before the Pacers game or in between the Pacers and Colts game? I would have no more than 10 minutes to sprint from Conseco Fieldhouse to Lucas Oil Stadium AND buy my ticket if I decided to wait. Based on my experience from two months ago when I attended the Colts game versus the New England Patriots I thought it was possible. However, I decided I would still look for a ticket.

I first walked to the Lucas Oil box office to see if tickets were still available. I was aiming for $100 since that is how much the cheapest tickets on StubHub were earlier in the week. The box office had singles available for $110 each. Instead of buying the easy single, I held out and walked around downtown Indianapolis for an hour.

No scalper would accept my offer of $60 for a ticket. One scalper offered $80 for his $100 face value ticket (note I never saw that ticket), but I thought I could do better. However, it took awhile until I found a scalper with a limited view seat – face value $60. He wanted $80, but I offered $40. We agreed on $50 and I had my ticket at 5:15 pm – 45 minutes before the Pacers game was scheduled to start.