Indy code enforcement rakes in over $50,000 in Super Bowl fines - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

The city kept a close watch on people and businesses during the Super Bowl, issuing 120 citations for code violations.

Adam Collins with the Department of Code Enforcement said most of those violations occurred in the last days leading up to Super Bowl Sunday. Collins said most were minor - for instance, not having the temporary license needed to operate.

Beth Dahlke, who owns a food truck, was one of those cited.

"I guess I learned a lesson," Dahlke said.

She said she was slapped with a $700 fine for inadvertently parking her food truck just inside the NFL's "clean zone."

"I was on Mass. Avenue and I was two spaces into the clean zone and they got me," Dahlke said."They were lenient. They said I didn't have to pay for four to six months, but I had to be in court the next morning, which knocked out a day of work as well."

She's far from alone. Records obtained from Code Enforcement show the Ugly Monkey bar was cited for giving away coupons, Steak n' Shake for improper banners and Dunkin' Donuts and Subway for using a car with advertising on it. All violated rules within the clean zone.

The Bud Lite hotel and Mikado Restaurant were cited for the way they added on. Mikado built a temporary partition at the entrance to shelter people waiting in line from the weather.

Collins said, "Mikado is an example of a business that exceeded their scope. They drilled into Georgia Street. They were allowed to have an enclosure but not drill in. So it's seemingly minor, but Georgia Street is a valuable asset."

Turns out Pan Am Plaza hosted more than ESPN. Inspectors busted a couple of people for selling illegal Super Bowl merchandise there and another guy for pushing around a dolly and selling cans of Coors light.

The fines weren't cheap. Records show a woman selling balloon animals for a $1 apiece was fined $1,500, the same for a woman selling American flags for $5 apiece. Records show a man selling boas and shot glasses was told to pony up $2,000, while several people selling lanyards and ticket holders were fined as much as $1,500.

"That was the most popular from a merchandise standpoint and we spent a majority of time trying to figure out who was bringing them in," Collins said.

Those hit hardest, though, were the scalpers, facing fines of up to $2,500.

"The reason you see a higher fine is because [brokers] are already licensed and they should know the rules and with all the licensed businesses we offered a warning. We told them when we went by the first time, here are your obligations, make sure you follow them," said Collins.

Some people ignored the parking rules. In fact, records show two men were caught using a private parking garage on Illinois Street to turn a quick buck.

The men had no connection to the garage, but allegedly had stolen an access card and began charging to park cars there.

Collins said the fines assessed totaled more than $54,000. Money collected goes into the city's General Fund.

He said more important was "what we were able to do with the resources we had was significant. It should be a model not just for Indianapolis but elsewhere as well."

Collins said some of the same rules will apply to other big events the city hosts including the Indy 500, Black Expo and the Big Ten tournaments.