Colts owner Irsay talking up pop culture collection museum

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay speaks to officials in multiple cities about the possibility of creating a museum to display the pop culture memorabilia he’s raised in the millions over the past 20 years.

This collection includes musical instruments such as Prince and Bob Dylan’s guitars, a John Lennon piano and Ringo Starr drums, and other items such as the 120-foot scroll on which Jack Kerouac wrote the novel “On. from the 1950s wrote the street. “

Irsay recently stepped up discussions about a museum, Pete Ward, chief operating officer of Colts, told the Indianapolis Business Journal.

“He’s added some really significant pieces to his collection in the last six to 12 months, and he doesn’t want them to be in a room where no one can enjoy them but himself,” said Ward.

Irsay has purchased an Apple II computer manual in the past few months, signed by Steve Jobs and Elton John’s Tour Piano.

Irsay has borrowed part of his collection for museum exhibitions or exhibited at private exhibitions, but he is interested in a permanent location. He looks at Indianapolis and cities like Boston, Chicago, Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas.

“We had some casual conversations – nothing really intense or serious, but there were signs of interest,” said Ward, noting that no decisions have yet been made about how to pay for the museum’s facility. Irsay has “been approached by some entities about the collection and we are trying to hire an architect to discuss concepts. But that’s really all that’s happening right now. “

Chris Gahl, vice president of the Visit Indy tourism promotion group, said the organization had been asked to figure out how the collection could attract visitors to the city.

“Part of our responsibility as the city’s leading tourism agency is to find ways to further diversify and expand our tourism ecosystem in order to attract more visitors and keep them here longer and spend more,” said Gahl.

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