It's the end of an era in downtown Indianapolis. Sunday night Nordstrom closed its department store inside Circle Centre Mall.
It's an economic blow to the city. But it may come with a silver lining.
The department store served as an anchor for Circle Centre Mall when it opened nearly 16 years ago. The few customers there at the end, like Susan Sweeney, expressed sorrow at the decision to shut it down. "I just really love it here. I love it here and I'm really sad to see it go," said Sweeney.
As signs came down and employees said goodbyes, it's just another reminder about the growing number of vacant storefronts around downtown Indianapolis. A large Borders bookstore sits empty just two blocks from Nordstrom. And you can see "for lease' signs all across downtown.
These vacant downtown businesses are not good for the city, especially a city hosting a Super Bowl that's just six months away. But Super Bowl organizers say big empty spaces like this offer some big opportunities.
Mark Miles is chairman of the city's 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee. He says there are about 200 companies looking for spaces in the city to host their Super Bowl parties.
"There are organizations that want very, very large spaces...Everybody wants to it to be right downtown. There's more demand than we can generally satisfy...More space being available gives us additional options," said Miles
Miles says there have already been discussions about how to use the now-vacant Borders and Nordstrom space for the week of the Super Bowl. Organizers are planning to have a huge Super Bowl Village in downtown Indy for a weeklong public celebration leading up to the big game. But right now, all the activities are planned for outdoors in February.
"All of a sudden, it's almost an answer to our prayers,' said Miles. "We've got the possibility of indoor space as part of the village...I'm very optimistic."
It's hard to say things are looking up when downtown businesses are shutting down. And for that, the city needs to find long term solutions that will last beyond the Super Bowl.
