 Lucas
Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
After more than two decades of playing
at the RCA Dome and with the opening of Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008, the Indianapolis Colts
play at the newest stadium in the NFL. In December 2004, the Colts and the
City of Indianapolis agreed to construct a new stadium for the
team. The stadium was built at a cost of $720 million. The Colts paid $100 million
of the total cost and the remaining funding came from the State of Indiana and the City of Indianapolis through
increased taxes on food and beverages. On September 20, 2005
construction began on the stadium, adjacent to the Colts former
home, the RCA Dome. In March 2006,
Lucas Oil Products bought the naming rights to the stadium for
$120 million over 20 years.
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 The Colts will play
their first regular season game at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 7, 2008 against
the Chicago Bears.
Located in downtown Indianapolis, the stadium features a
retractable roof that allows the Colts to play outside for the
first time since the team moved to Indianapolis from Baltimore.
On the outside, the stadium has a facade of brick and
glass allowing it to blend with the surrounding buildings. Lucas Oil
Stadium has seating for 63,000 fans that is expandable to
seat 70,000 for larger events. The Fieldturf playing field is
25 feet below street level allowing fans easier access to their
seats. Many modern amenities are found throughout the stadium from the
high definition replay/scoreboards to the 150 luxury
suites.
Aside from serving as the home of the Colts, the stadium will
host the NCAA Basketball March Madness Tournaments in 2009, 2010
and 2011, and will serve as the
permanent back up host for the Final Four Tournament. Lucas Oil
Stadium has one of the largest videoboards in the NFL. Consisting of three screens each, the
97-foot-wide-by-nearly-53-foot-high scoreboards hang in the
northwest and southeast corners of the building. Prior to the
announcement of a new stadium, there had been talk of the Colts
possibly moving to Los Angeles, but now they will remain in
Indianapolis for years to come. After the Colts
moved into Lucas Oil Stadium, the RCA Dome was demolished in
order for the convention center to be expanded. In May 2008 the
NFL awarded Indianapolis and Lucas Oil Stadium the biggest game in
sports, Super Bowl XLVI. This spectacular sporting event will be played on February 5, 2012.
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