New Marriott nears Final Four deadline

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - With most of the attention of Indianapolis focused on the Colts and the Super Bowl you may have forgotten the city hosts the NCAA Final Four tournament in April. The promise from city leaders and developers was that three of the four hotels in the new downtown Marriott Complex would be open by then. Will they make the deadline?

They will make it. In fact, they are running a little ahead of schedule. Today, they gave 24-Hour News 8 an exclusive tour as they put the final pieces in place of more than 600 hotel rooms.

You won't recognize it, but what was once the Courtyard by Marriott hotel across the street from White River State Park has undergone a 21 month makeover. The old hotel has been gutted and rebuilt. One week from Wednesday it will reopen as the Fairfield Inn and Suites.

"I liken it to moving into a 168 room house. So everything that's in the rooms has to be brought in," said Kim Meyerholtz, the hotel’s General Manager.

We found staff unpacking boxes and making beds as they push to the finish line.

Meyerholtz says "we are sold out for the Final Four, so we're very excited. We anticipate that being our first big event."

The Fairfield's sister hotels, the Courtyard by Marriott and the Springhill Suites are set to open February 18th, that's ahead of schedule.

While the JW Marriott may be the centerpiece of the 1600 plus room $450,000,000 downtown Marriott Place, the three other hotels in the complex are the backbone of the business. The three hotels combined will be bringing more than 600 rooms on line in a very tight economy.

“We're going to have three different price points. They're really going to help, because Indianapolis is really depending on the convention business. So if you're a meeting planner your going to have three different solutions in one complex," said Michael Kauffeld, General Manager of both the Courtyard and the Springhill Suites.

The hotels in this complex will plan to exploit the unique perspective and view they have on downtown. There are even rooms overlooking Victory Field.

The updated TGI Friday's restaurant is also opening next week. The JW Marriott, with its 1005 rooms is still scheduled to open in early 2011, in time for another Super Bowl. Even Super Bowl XLVI, which will be held in Indianapolis in February of 2012. Those big events are important to the Marriott Complex, but it is regular convention business that is ultimately crucial to the success of the hotels.