Scouting Combine Needs to Stay Home in Indianapolis

The NFL Scouting Combine has long resided in Indianapolis, as the previous 35 years of the event has been held in former homes of the Colts such as the RCA Dome and eventually Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Combine has always carried a special mystique around it. For as much as the event is heralded as the "Underwear Olympics," it's truly the top event in the scouting cycle behind only the actual draft itself.

As a child, I woke up early in the mornings and flocked to my TV to watch players participate in events such as the 40-yard dash, bench press and others hoping one day to be on the same stage.

As genetics and chance would have it, I wouldn't make it past high-school football, but I knew one day I would find myself in Indianapolis.

I graduated in 2013, and just one week ago, yours truly was in Indianapolis covering the Combine for the first time as a media member.

It was perhaps the fastest week of my life, as I grossly underestimated the amount of work I would be putting in over the week spent interviewing players, coaches and general managers.

I've now been unpacked and settled back into my home in Phoenix, and one thought can't escape my mind: There's no way the Combine should be any place else.

The league's contract to host the Combine in Indianapolis has expired and potential host cities such as Dallas, Los Angeles and Kansas City are expected to seriously contend for the rights to host the event in the future.

At the end of the day, it will be hard for another place to replicate what Indianapolis provides. Groves of media members who have attended the event in the past have come to that same conclusion, with Colts general manager Chris Ballard chiming in during his opening comments last week.

“Good to be back. Good to be back in Indy, all of us together back at the Combine,” Ballard said. “Can’t have a better city to do it in. We’ll see where it ends up in the future, but I’d be hard-pressed to find another city that does it any better.”

Indianapolis offers the rare utility of a major city that can host thousands of people for an event while having everything needed within a close radius.

Walking around the Indiana Convention Center (staring Lucas Oil Stadium right in the face across the street) made me feel like a mouse in a maze searching for cheese thanks to the limitless amounts of space and rooms. With 32 clubs, over 300 college players, various networks covering the event and other needs, the convention center is one of the few that can host practically the entire league at such a high level.

Fellow media members have also pointed out that medical facilities at IUPUI are a stones-throw away, along with Indianapolis being an accessible city from nearly every corner of the country with a number of hotels and amenities for visitors.

For media members, the Combine is an opportunity to merge into a social outing and catch up with friends made across the industry over the years.

I had the opportunity to dine at St. Elmo Steak House, famous for hosting the league's top faces and walls that have soaked in loads of football secrets.

Their food is alright, too.

I’m never leaving https://t.co/PHwlnNME8p pic.twitter.com/ex3Ch6aE1O
— Donnie Druin (@DonnieDruin) March 5, 2022

Indianapolis is synonymous with the Combine as much as eggs are paired with Easter, and I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Leaving Indy. Tank’s on E. Great week in the best city for the combine. And I’m more optimistic about it staying here next year than I was when I landed, six days ago.

We’ll see what happens.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 6, 2022

For many reasons, Indianapolis is the perfect place for the combine. Proximity, convenience, ample hotels and restaurants, great hospitality.

I imagine NFL scouts and couches, player agents and media would agree almost unanimously.

Here’s to hoping it stays where it belongs. https://t.co/BVyPijT5s0
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 4, 2022

The only reason to move the combine out of Indianapolis would be for a money grab. There is nothing from a football perspective that would be better elsewhere. Hopefully this week has reminded the league's decisionmakers of why Indy works so well.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) March 4, 2022

My time in Indianapolis was special, as the experience was everything I had anticipated as a kid. I just needed a laptop rather than cleats.

It dawned on me during the flight home, which I shared with a few players heading back to their own locations on a connecting flight through Phoenix, that I wasn't the only one that felt that way about Indianapolis.

I had the opportunity to speak with numerous people in Indianapolis and all hated the possibility of another city hosting.

The league will ultimately carry the Combine to wherever can land them the most coin, and that's fine. We know everything that's done is with interest in dollar signs.

Yet there are just a few things money shouldn't be able to touch.

For better or worse, the Combine is married to the city of Indianapolis. It's where the entire world watched the great players of our generation forge their legacy, and I hope that's where my children can soak in the experience as well.

Media feels that way. Players feel that way. Nearly every person involved feels that way. To take a gamble on another city flawlessly executing a game plan Indianapolis has perfected would be unwise.

The league isn't too fond of gambles lately anyway.