Indianapolis Colts Cheerleaders go to Michigan for Calendar Shoot

From WTSP.com

The Indianapolis Colts don’t typically get a whole lot of attention in West Michigan, but that’s changing this week as 26 of the team’s cheerleaders invade the lakeshore.

The cheerleaders are shooting their 2014 swimsuit calendar in the Saugatuck-Douglas area, as part of a deal with the local visitors bureau.

“We just happened to be driving down the road in Indy and found a billboard on the side of the road that had beach, sun, sunset, sand, everything we were looking for and I thought maybe we should go up to Michigan to shoot our calendar,” says Kelly Tilley, manager of the Colts Cheerleaders.

The Saugatuck-Douglas Visitors Bureau says Indianapolis has been a key tourism market for the lakeshore.

“We’ve just had a flood, an increase of visitors from Indianapolis coming here, and from Indiana in general,” says Felicia Fairchild, executive director of the Saugatuck-Douglas Visitors Bureau. “There’s such great visitors here, we want to make sure more of them know about us.”

Some Colts fans may be wondering why their team’s cheerleaders came out to a neighboring state to do the photo shoot. Tourism officials say it starts with a nice beach and it doesn’t hurt to get a free place to stay.

The Beachway Resort gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

“I’m giving them the rooms, free lodging for about 40 rooms so that is a big benefit for them,” says Kathy Wilson, owner of the Beachway Resort.

“You can’t go wrong with a pretty girl on a beach, so it’s an easy sell for us,” says Tilley.

It’s the first time the Colts cheerleaders have taken the photo shoot out of state.

“I want them to look at the cheerleaders, but then I want them to look at the scenery and say ‘hey, that would be a great place to visit,'” says Fairchild.

The Colts Cheerleaders’ calendar will be released in early August, before the first preseason game.