Hurst Bean holds on against eminent domain

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The New England Patriots square off against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium – home of the Indianapolis Colts – on Sunday. The event has been long anticipated by city and state planners.

In a parallel twist, a small business in the shadow of the stadium also faced the giants of eminent domain, government control and economic development. The family-owned and -operated dry bean packaging company, opened in 1938 by Needham King Hurst, faced the threat of eminent domain in 2005 when the Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority (ISCBA) set its sights on a new state-of-the-art facility just a few blocks south of the Colts’ RCA Dome.

Today, the small, century-old warehouse is still standing. Aerial footage of Sunday’s game will show the warehouse in the southwestern corner of the stadium parking lot with the words “N.K. Hurst Co.,” dwarfed by the massive 67,000-seat stadium.

Not only is the facility still in place, but the Hursts have been and continue to be true blue supporters of the Indianapolis Colts and the stadium. The RCA Dome was located just a few blocks north of the bean company.

“People have been parking on our property since the Colts first came to town in 1984,” said Jim Hurst, vice president and grandson of the company’s founder. “We’ve had several groups of fan clubs tailgating here every season.”

No beans about it – the company took what could have been a devastating situation and turned it into an opportunity to help itself and the city. In negotiations, the Hursts agreed to turn 2.5 acres into a parking lot that would hold about 250 vehicles. It is now known as the Hurst Bean Field and is the No. 1 tailgating spot for Colts fans. Spaces sell out quickly, and the waiting list matches the number of parking spaces.

The Hurst family is usually in on the action. “There are grills everywhere, everyone is tossing the football and it is lots of fun,” Hurst said. “We throw a heck of a party out here on game day.”

The company uses the venue to aid many worthwhile causes. One year half of the generated funds went to hurricane relief in New Orleans, and tailgaters routinely collect for Indianapolis food banks, the Salvation Army and other charitable organizations.

Matt Huntley represents the fourth generation of the family and is in charge of new product development. He has taken the lead in organizing events for the tailgaters, including concerts, contests and an annual bean cook-off that garners new recipes for the company’s products.

Exclusive rights to the Hurst Bean Field belong to the Super Bowl Committee this weekend, but the Hurst family is still in the middle of the action.

Today, company president Rick Hurst, Jim’s cousin, will make the walk down famed “Radio Row” at the JW Marriott. The media event hosts radio and TV stations from across the country, and allows local companies and individuals to “pitch” their story for possible air coverage.

To help get airtime, Colts offensive lineman Tarik Glenn has been enlisted to be a “player rep” and assist Hurst in the presentations. Along with the story on eminent domain, Hurst will announce the N.K. Hurst Co.’s donation of 46,000 meals to the winning team’s food bank.

Also, Huntley will pitch a “Battle of the Beans” with recipes representing each team’s city and offer live tasting on air. He created Boston Baked Bean Soup for the Patriots and a New York Reuben 15-Bean Soup for the Giants, which includes all the ingredients of a Reuben.

The thrill of hosting the Super Bowl is the perfect end to the quest for both the ISCBA and the Hursts, but it was a rocky road getting there. Shortly after negotiations opened for stadium land, the ISCBA insisted it needed the entirety of the Hurst property to accommodate parking. It filed an eminent domain lawsuit seeking to take the whole 4.2 acres, which would nearly touch the steps of the stadium. The acquisition would have razed the company’s headquarters and production facility, housed in a century-old, loft-style building formerly used as a Kroger warehouse.

The Hurst family and their 44 longtime employees threw down a gauntlet, taking the state of Indiana to court. It was a high-profile, David-versus-Goliath case fueled by the fact the Indiana legislature was rewriting its eminent domain statutes to make it harder for private property to be taken.

“We just didn’t want to be told we had to go,” Jim Hurst said. “If the law was in place in the beginning, it would have been difficult for the state to have prevailed.”

A good publicity campaign and outcry from across the state helped the company’s cause. Chants of “Save the bean company” came from Colts fans in the stands.

In the end, the Hursts gave up 1.7 acres to the building authority and signed an agreement that the building would remain a bean company for 30 years.