Staff at Giants' hotel has had a busy week
People walk past a hotel with displaying a likeness of the Vince Lombardi Trophy before the Super Bowl in Indianapolis (Feb. 3, 2012). Credit: AP
INDIANAPOLIS
There's no hiding where the Giants are staying this week.
A giant sign above the entrance to the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown welcomes the team, and there are photos throughout the hotel of various players.
As the Giants prepare for Super Bowl XLVI, this -- not the practice field -- is where they spend the most time. That has created a heavy job for the hotel's staff all week.
"We're used to sports teams staying here and we've had the Final Four, but as you can imagine for a Super Bowl, it's a whole another thing," said Phil Ray, the hotel's general manager. "They're not just coming in for a day. They're coming in for a week. It's not a typical setup."
For the Giants, the hotel turned its entire second floor of meeting rooms into various offices and also prepared two adjoining floors somewhere above for the entire traveling party to be together. There's security at every entrance of both floors.
Across the way looms the JW Marriott, a huge blue hotel bearing the Super Bowl numbers and an image of the Lombardi Trophy. It houses the media and event headquarters. It's a sight that many of the Giants see before they go to sleep and when they wake up.
Ray said he met with Giants officials -- as well as San Francisco 49ers officials -- five days before the Jan. 22 NFC Championship Game to give them "the lay of the property."
After the Giants won, they told Ray and his staff how they planned to use the space. Then a lot of moving around began.
The Giants' traveling party is about 120, with each player getting his own room, Ray said. There are added amenities in the rooms such as extra towels, but nothing too extravagant.
"There's really no difference with the rooms," Ray said.
All of the rooms are on two floors of the hotel. For security reasons, Ray would not say which floors the Giants are using. But even if a rabid fan or aggressive autograph hound found out, Ray insisted they wouldn't get far.
Security guards are stationed at the elevator doors and doors to the stairwells. All of the housekeeping and room service representatives and hotel management officials have special credentials to gain access to their floors, he said.
Tom Coughlin's office for this week is on the second floor, which serves as the Giants' makeshift headquarters. There also are offices for the coaches and rooms where the players meet daily.
"We're isolated," Coughlin said. "The second floor is completely secure for our players, our personnel. Our floors are off-limits to everybody. They're well-secured."
Ray said the hotel also provides meals for the players, as set forth by the team ahead of time. The Giants have been eating breakfast and lunch at the hotel, Ray said; dinners have been on their own.
The biggest obstacle the hotel faces is when the team comes and goes. Ray has a schedule of Giants movements -- detailed to the minute -- so security can be positioned to allow for smooth entrances and exits. Fans are allowed inside the hotel lobby and can watch the team come and go from behind a rope.
The goal for Saturday night, Ray said, is to make sure everything is "safe and secure." Come Sunday night, the hotel has a postgame party planned for the Giants and their families and friends.
Whether it's a victory celebration isn't up to the hotel, though.
