Indy begins Super Bowl cleanup

INDIANAPOLIS (AP/WANE) — The big party the city of Indianapolis spent years preparing for is over, but the cleanup from Sunday's Super Bowl is just beginning.

Workers began Monday dismantling tents, removing decorations and hauling away trash the day after the city capped a week of festivities by hosting the big game, which the New York Giants won 21-17 over the New England Patriots.

The outdoor landscape of the city will be restored to pre-event status in two weeks according to event coordinator, Mel Raines with the host committee. She said getting Lucas Oil Stadium back to normal will take three weeks.

Super Bowl Host Committee officials say total attendance at the Super Bowl village during the festivities likely topped 1 million people.

Organizers considered the 10-day event to be a total success.

“We can say that there really were two winners of Super Bowl 46, both the Giants and Indianapolis came out on top,” host committee chairman Mark Miles said.

It’s a celebration the entire state should enjoy according to the host committee’s president Allison Melangton.

“From Fort Wayne to Evansville, we had people involved in our statewide outreach and lots and lots of people from around the state were here the last 10 days helping us actually execute all of the planning that we had,” Melangton said.

Host committee members said Monday that feedback from the NFL had been positive enough to assume the league would be open to future opportunities for the game to be held in Indianapolis.