Alerding, R. James

Although professional football began in the late 1800s, Indiana had never been home to a professional football team, and by 1973 many citizens in the Indianapolis area were in favor of having one. While working through American Fletcher National Bank (AFNB), R. James Alerding began a feasibility study under the direction of Bob Welch and Frank McKinney to determine whether Indianapolis could financially support a team. Welch was a board member who headed a group of businessmen that wanted to bring professional football to Indianapolis and McKinney was the chair of AFNB. Alerding's research led him to the conclusion that Indianapolis could support a team, and the owner of the team could afford a stadium as well. This study helped the push for a stadium, which would become the Hoosier Dome (later renamed the RCA Dome). A franchise, the Baltimore Colts, was moved to Indianapolis in 1984 and became the Indianapolis Colts.