Athletics department hosts Hinkle tours

With Super Bowl festivities taking place in Indianapolis this week, Butler’s athletics department is providing free tours of Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Matt Harris, manager of fan development, said people on the tours will get to see the main floor, main concourse, old pool and possibly the basketball locker rooms, among other areas.

“There are not a lot of arenas like Hinkle,” Harris said. “With so many people coming from out of town, it’s a chance for people to get to see Hinkle.”

The tours have also drawn individuals from nearby cities.

Linda Saft and Gretchen Schassberger, natives of Westfield, have attended events at Hinkle before, including participating in a school-organized sing-along in the fieldhouse as children.

The duo attended the 12 p.m. tour on Monday.

“[The tour] was an opportunity to see what [we] don’t get to see during games,” Saft said.

Neither Saft nor Schassberger had been on such a tour before, but Schassberger said they enjoy going to colleges to view athletic facilities.

“We’ll do this tour now, and then we’ll come back when they remodel,” Schassberger said.

Harris said that the athletics department would consider having future tours during major events in Indianapolis.

The tours will continue today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.