It started as a small subcontracting job, but it has evolved over the past 20-plus years to where All Occasion Tent Rental, Franklin, Ind., a family-owned event rental operation, has become the primary provider of all the event needs for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
“We were subcontracted by another vendor who was doing the decorating for the RCA Dome [the football team’s former home stadium]. They hired us to do the tailgate activities. At the beginning, there wasn’t a lot, but it grew as the needs arose,” says Glen Rice, All Occasion Tent Rental president.
After two years of this relationship, the vendor connected Rice to the Colts organization directly. “This vendor’s expertise was in float design and building. They didn’t want to lose their identity in this market, so they made the connection for us,” Rice says.
At first, it was primarily a matter of serving the Colts’ tailgate parties at home games. “We put up a handful of frame tents that were connected together. After a couple years of that, we felt there was a more efficient way to accommodate their needs. We transitioned to larger pole tents and eliminated some of the smaller frame tents. We covered an entire street that led up to the RCA Dome with a 30-ft.-by-180-ft. pole tent,” Rice says.
As the tailgates grew, larger tents were needed. Then corporate parties and sponsorships took hold, which created a need for a combination of more pole and frame tents.
“When we first started with it, the Colts identified a theme for three to five years. As their needs grew, they would change different styles and types of tents. After moving to Lucas Oil Stadium, the Colts decided they wanted their brand to be visibly displayed on the tents — a trend that was becoming more prevalent throughout the NFL. I reached out to a variety of manufacturers, and we were able to secure branded tents for the Colts. This past year, the team rebranded all of its tents. It was a challenge to get the tent manufactured as our industry is still dealing with issues of the ongoing COVID pandemic. Supply chain constraints and labor and material shortages all played havoc on production schedules. We received some of the tents in October — almost three-quarters through the NFL season. Now the Colts own their own tents. I service them, store them and take care of them as if they were our own. We also supply our own inventory of tables, chairs, linens, fencing and lighting to complete the tailgate experience package,” Rice says.
One element of the game-day tailgate experience, which is part of what is known as “Touchdown Town,” includes the setup of a 40-by-100-ft. Century tent. “This is used as a large tailgate party tent. It is open to the public, and fans can go in to have a quick lunch before the game, eat, drink and enjoy a live band and all the other options offered there,” Rice says.
In addition, “we have a collection of tents, ranging from eight to 14, 20-by-20-ft. Century frame tents, 10-by-10-ft. Century frame tents and 10-by-40-ft. High Peak and Century frame tents. The number of tents installed in Touchdown Town depends on the number and size of corporate parties, live radio shows prior to game, media and staff check-in tents and a mobile ticketing tent. The whole thing takes up a large parking lot, just north of the stadium,” Rice says.
Putting up all of these tents for game day has been quite a feat in itself, Rice notes.
“Where the stadium is located, it is tight on space and parking is at a premium. Most of the time, in years past, we have not had the luxury of going in the day before to install for a Sunday game,” he says. “We would typically go in at 1 a.m. and work through the night. By 6 or 6:30 a.m., everything would be set up. Then we would go home for a few hours of sleep and turnaround and be back at 1 p.m. on Sunday when the game started to tear everything down. That has been the standard operating procedure for years. As soon as kickoff happens, we are in there to clear everything before everyone gets out of the game. It all helps with traffic flow, etc.”
While Rice says it is exciting, it also can be exhausting, particularly when the weather doesn’t cooperate. “You can have all the elements that make it fun: wind, rain and snow,” he says.
One such setup was quite challenging. “We had a very interesting weather night in 2000. It was a Monday night game in December — the year the Colts were 3 and 13. We had pouring-down rain all day. We set up before the game. The real bad weather wasn’t forecast to come until the end of the game, but it came in much quicker than anyone anticipated — just after kickoff. It hit hard. The rain turned into freezing rain and then snow, then high winds came and then a heavy wet snow after that. It was the perfect storm of weather. We quickly tore down, but we had some tent damage. Not many fans were still outside, so no one got hurt,” Rice says.
The debrief after that incident prompted the installation of permanent anchors the very next season. “That has increased the safety of the installation for everyone involved. We haven’t had a problem since. It was a wakeup call,” Rice says.
This past season, Rice and his team have had a different setup schedule. “For the first time, we have been able to go in the day before for the setup and then return as soon as kickoff happens. That has really helped us, especially with the labor challenges we have faced,” he says.
The tailgating extravaganzas are just one part of what Rice and his team handle. They also take care of the tenting needs at the team’s training camp, which starts in July. “It is similar to game day except we are more spread out and more tents are involved,” he says.
There also are tent installations for special events the team sponsors. Community outreach programs, where volunteers and members of the team help build a playground at an area school, a Halloween Trick-or-Treat drive-thru and a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway are a few of the events where the company's services are needed.
“We service whatever need they have in conjunction for them to perform the activities they need during the season,” Rice says.
At the height of the pandemic, the tenting needs changed dramatically. “We set up tents at the Colts’ own training facility. We put up only a limited number of tents, including smaller ones in their parking lot for COVID testing stations and temperature checks. Once the players were cleared, they could do their training. While it was a significant loss in revenue, we were still able to serve the Colts,” Rice adds.
The partnership with the team has offered Rice valuable life lessons. “I have learned that planning, communication and patience are key. With planning, it is about being set and ready to go, so when the gun goes off you are off in a sprint. It is also about being adaptable to whatever the weather will hand you. With communication, it is about having the teams discuss what worked and what didn’t. Patience comes in with the weather. We have had times when the wind came up and we had to stop and then come back when the wind died down to finish the job,” he says.
Even though it has been more than 20 years, Rice is still awed that “in a relatively short time — six to eight hours — we come into a bare parking lot, install these tents, create a Touchdown Town atmosphere where in a few hours thousands will come, celebrate, enjoy rooting for their football team and spend time with friends and family. Then in a short period of time, we go in again and transform it back like nothing ever happened. It is quite a transformation and a huge, choreographed coordination between us and the Colts team. I still find it pretty amazing,” he says.
Being a partner with the Colts “has been a wonderful ride,” Rice says. “I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to come alongside them and not only provide a service for them but also be part of the excitement that came with the growth of football in Indianapolis.”