Walk down Pennsylvania Avenue downtown just blocks away from Lucas Oil Stadium, and you’ll come across O’Reilly’s Irish Bar & Restaurant, welcoming customers with a Guinness chalkboard sign out front: “This business serves everyone.” At the bottom of the sign is a pink chalk heart.
Keith Reilly, owner of the restaurant, said O’Reilly’s, just like every other downtown restaurant owner he knows, can’t wait for every visitor that comes in.
“Our restaurant has always been welcoming to all, completely inclusive,” Reilly said. “We could care less what your sexual orientation or anything else is.”
In the wake of Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which has received national attention from news outlets and celebrities, Indianapolis is still chugging forward to host the nation’s biggest sporting event of the season: the Final Four.
Reilly said they expect a massive surge in business this weekend just like they got during the Super Bowl or other giant events that come to the city.
Now that the RFRA has been signed into law, concern grows as businesses, performing acts and others are pulling their ties with Indianapolis and the state.
Reilly said he’s extremely worried.
RFRA, he said, sends the wrong message to potential events that would come to Indianapolis.
He’s not wrong — the NCAA has come out with concern about the legislation.
“Moving forward, we intend to closely examine the implications of this bill and how it might affect future events as well as our workforce,” NCAA President Mark Emmert wrote in a statement Thursday.
Even though RFRA has been signed, Indianapolis as a city has non-discrimination laws that protect LGBT citizens, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
In the here and now, though, Reilly focuses on this weekend, when he expects to see a 500- to 600- percent increase in business from last weekend.
“We’re trying to get as much beer and food in as possible and get ready to have a wonderful weekend.”
A few blocks away from O’Reilly’s, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is gearing up for Final Four weekend in its own way.
Patrolling downtown Indianapolis this weekend will be a number of agencies including IMPD, the Indiana State Police, the Marion County Sherriff’s Department and even the Indianapolis Park Rangers.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if 100,000 people came to the downtown area, Lt. Richard Riddle of IMPD said.
Plans are in place for keeping protesters safe. There’s a designated protest zone being set up downtown, but Riddle recognizes protests can still happen in other areas.
“As long as the demonstrations are peaceful, they’re not breaking the law, they’re not breaking windows or causing any disturbances, then we will ensure their safety as well as the safety of the attendees for the Final Four event,” Riddle said.
It’s all hands on deck at the IMPD this weekend. Officers are having leave time restricted and Saturday days off have been canceled.
Even though IMPD has experience with major events coming to its city, the department still started planning for the Final Four about six months ago.
Contingency plans are in place. But as for this weekend, no major problems are expected.
There’s no severe weather in the forecast, and IMPD intelligence and threat assessments haven’t indicated any large-scale protests or terrorist threat.
The RFRA has torn the state apart. With the eyes of the nation on Indianapolis for the Final Four in a hopefully positive way, IMPD has a big weekend ahead of it.
“Are we concerned? No,” Riddle said. “We have good success with events like this, and we feel that we can safely protect everybody that chooses to come to downtown for these events.”
The NCAA Men’s Basketball National Semifinals will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, with the NCAA Championship on Monday.
