I normally do not write about the Indianapolis Colts. But after watching their game Sunday, October 18, against the Tennessee Titans, I feel I must.

I have been a Colts fan ever since they moved here in 1984. But my concern goes beyond football. It is about what this team means to Central Indiana, and what the people of this area have invested in it.

The Colts lost 26-20 to a previously winless Tennessee team, dropping Indianapolis to 2-4. A blocked punt returned for a touchdown and a late kickoff return that helped set up Tennessee’s go-ahead field goal were costly failures in a game the Colts had opportunities to win.

I have broadcast sports and written about sports for years, although I have never covered the NFL. I do not pretend to know whether the Colts’ problems begin with the players, the coaching, the front office or some combination of those things.

But you do not have to be an NFL expert to find that performance troubling.

And you do not have to buy a ticket to have a financial stake in this franchise.

Lucas Oil Stadium opened in 2008 at a cost of roughly $720 million. The commonly cited construction funding breakdown was $100 million from the Colts and approximately $620 million from public sources. That put about 86 percent of the construction cost on the public side of the ledger.

The Colts’ contribution deserves acknowledgment. But the financial arrangements were more complicated than Jim Irsay simply writing a personal check.

The Capital Improvement Board’s 2024 financial report says the team financed its commitment through a $34 million NFL loan and a $66 million loan arranged through Indianapolis and its public improvement bond bank. The Colts owe repayment with interest; the CIB provided a contingent public backstop.

There was another substantial public payment. In 2005, the CIB paid the Colts $48 million to terminate their previous lease and surrender their rights under that agreement. That was a separate transaction, but it belongs in any discussion of what the public provided to make the new stadium arrangement possible.

For Hamilton County readers, this is more than an Indianapolis issue. The Indiana Department of Revenue identifies Hamilton, Boone, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson and Shelby counties as counties whose food and beverage tax collections partly support Lucas Oil Stadium through the CIB. People eating at local restaurants help support this arrangement, whether they follow football or not.

And, as many readers will remember, the old stadium’s debt did not disappear when the building did. The Indiana Historical Society documents that approximately $75 million remained owed when the RCA Dome was demolished in December 2008.

The obligation for Lucas Oil Stadium continues as well. The state building authority’s financial statements listed $482.5 million in stadium debt outstanding, excluding premiums, as of June 30, 2025, with maturities extending through 2037. That is a dated financial snapshot, but it makes clear how long the public commitment lasts.

The lease also provides continuing benefits to the Colts. It sets annual base rent at $250,000 for at least 10 home games, with reductions for fewer games, and provides $3.5 million annually from non-Colts event revenues. Game-day expense reimbursements run in both directions.

The lease expires August 31, 2038. However, if the Colts do not rank among the NFL’s top five teams in total gross operating revenues for fiscal 2030, they can terminate it effective August 31, 2035. That test concerns revenue, rather than the team’s estimated sale value.

There is a fair argument on the other side, and it should be acknowledged.

Lucas Oil Stadium serves a broader purpose than housing the Colts. The public authority describes a facility used for NCAA competition, conventions, concerts, trade shows and other major events. Replacing the RCA Dome also allowed expansion of the Indiana Convention Center on its former site. Those uses belong in any assessment of the public investment.

The Colts have also defended their contribution and the agreement. In a 2009 statement, the team said the new arrangement removed financial guarantees in its former lease and disputed suggestions that it had threatened to leave Indianapolis.

I understand why public officials wanted to secure the franchise’s future here. I also understand that a stadium’s value cannot be measured by one Sunday’s scoreboard.

But the size and duration of this public commitment give the community every reason to expect a well-run football organization.

Carlie Irsay-Gordon became the Colts’ principal owner and CEO in June 2025 after Jim Irsay’s death. Her sisters, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson, share ownership and leadership responsibilities. The responsibility for getting this organization moving in the right direction now rests with them and the football leadership they employ.

No owner can promise a championship every year. Injuries happen. Players develop at different speeds. Good teams lose games.

Still, the NFL gives franchises tools to recover. It operates with a salary cap, and its draft generally gives earlier selections to teams with worse records. Those mechanisms do not guarantee good decisions, but they provide opportunities to improve.

Taxpayers’ investment does not purchase a guaranteed winning season. In my view, it does give the public a reasonable expectation of competence, accountability and a credible plan for sustained competitiveness.

At 2-4, there is still time to turn this season around. But losing at home to a winless opponent, with costly failures on special teams, makes the climb harder.

I am still cheering for the Colts. I want this team to succeed.

The people of Central Indiana have made a substantial commitment to this franchise. It is fair to expect the Colts to make good on that support.