Lucas Oil Stadium

It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium was constructed to allow the removal of the RCA Dome and expansion of the Indiana Convention Center on its site. It is located on the south side of South Street, a block south of the former site of the RCA Dome. The stadium's naming rights belong to the Lucas Oil corporation.

Lucas Oil Stadium

Lucas Oil Stadium in 2016
Lucas Oil Stadium Location in Indianapolis Show map of Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium Location in Indiana Show map of Indiana Lucas Oil Stadium Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Address	500 South Capitol Avenue
Location	Indianapolis, Indiana
Coordinates	39°45′36.2″N 86°9′49.7″W / 39.760056°N 86.163806°W / 39.760056; -86.163806
Public transit	24
Owner	Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority (State of Indiana)
Operator	Capital Improvement Board of Managers of Marion County, Indiana
Executive suites	139
Capacity	American football: 63,000 (expandable to 70,000) Basketball: 70,000 (approx) Marching band: 24,000 (approx)
Surface	FieldTurf (2008–2018) Shaw Sports Momentum Pro (2018–present)
Construction
Broke ground	September 20, 2005 (2005-09-20)
Opened	August 16, 2008 (2008-08-16)
Construction cost	US$720 million ($1 billion in 2023 dollars)
Architect	HKS, Inc. A2so4 Architecture Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf, Inc.
Project manager	John Klipsch Consulting LLC
Structural engineer	Walter P Moore/Fink Roberts & Petrie
Services engineer	Moore Engineers PC
General contractor	Hunt/Smoot/Mezzetta
Tenants
Indianapolis Colts (NFL) (2008–present) Indy Eleven (USLC) (2018–2020) NFL Scouting Combine (2008-present)
Website
lucasoilstadium.com

Architectural firm HKS, Inc. was responsible for the stadium's design, with Walter P Moore working as the Structural Engineer of Record. The stadium features a retractable roof and a large retractable window on one end, allowing the Colts to play both indoors and outdoors. The field surface was originally FieldTurf, but was replaced with Shaw Sports Momentum Pro in 2018. The exterior of the new stadium is faced with a reddish-brown brick trimmed with Indiana limestone, similar to several other sports venues in the area, including Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse and Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

The home field of the Indianapolis Colts for their first 24 seasons in the city (1984–2007) was the RCA Dome (formerly the Hoosier Dome), which was part of the Indiana Convention Center. In 2006, prior to the new stadium's construction, Lucas Oil, a manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives and lubricants headquartered in Indianapolis, secured the naming rights for the stadium at a cost of $122 million over the next 20 years.

 

Lucas Oil Stadium has a seating capacity of 63,000, and covers approximately 1.8 million square feet (170,000 m²). The stadium offers 139 suites, two club lounges, two exhibit halls and 12 meeting rooms. There are also 360-degree ribbon boards and two 53-foot (16 m) tall HD video boards. An underground walkway directly connects the stadium to the Indiana Convention Center.

Other features include:

• 183,000 square feet (17,000 m²) of exhibit space
• 7 locker rooms
• 11 indoor truck docks
• 14 escalators
• 11 passenger elevators
• 2 accessible pedestrian ramps

Retractable roof

The stadium's retractable roof can open or close in about 11 minutes. It is composed of two panels that each weigh 2.5 million pounds (1,100,000 kg). The home team determines if the roof is to be opened or closed 90 minutes before kickoff.

Retractable window

 

The retractable north window offers a view of downtown Indianapolis during games, concerts and other events due to the stadium's angled position on the city block.

Gate sponsorship

The four gates leading into Lucas Oil Stadium are each named for a sponsoring corporation, with the exception of the South Gate, which is named after the team:

• Lucas Oil (north gate)
• Huntington Bank (west gate)
• Indianapolis Colts (south gate)
• Verizon Wireless (east gate)

The ground-level concourses of their respective gates feature banners and floor coverings with the corporations' logos, advertisements and merchandise displays.

 

 

Annual events include:

• Bands of America Grand National Championships and Indianapolis Super Regionals
• Big Ten Football Championship Game
• Circle City Classic
• Drum Corps International World Championships
• FDIC International (Firefighting Convention)
• IHSAA Indiana State Football Championships
• ISSMA Band State Finals
• Monster Energy Supercross
• Monster Jam
• NFL Draft Combine
• National FFA Convention

Upcoming events include:

• NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four (April 2026 & April 2029)
• 2024 United States Swimming Olympic Trials (June 2024)
• Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour (November 1-3, 2024)

Significant past events included:

• Super Bowl XLVI (February 5, 2012)
• Kenny Chesney concerts (2008, 2009, 2012, 2015)
• Chelsea vs. Inter Milan (International Champions Cup) (August 1, 2013)
• NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four (2010, 2015, 2021)
• One Direction – On The Road Again Tour (July 31, 2015)
• Gen Con 50 (August 2017)
• North American Youth Congress 2017 (July–August 2017)
• U2 – The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 (September 10, 2017)
• Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour (September 15, 2018)
• 2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament (March 10–14, 2021)
• NCAA men's basketball tournament, including the Final Four (March–April 2021)
• Guns N' Roses – Guns N' Roses 2020 Tour (September 8, 2021)
• College Football Playoff National Championship (January 10, 2022)

Football

The first games played at Lucas Oil Stadium occurred on August 22, 2008, and were part of the PeyBack Classic, featuring Indiana high school football games between Noblesville High School and Fishers High School in Game 1, followed by New Palestine High School and Whiteland Community High School in Game 2. On November 26, 2008, Cardinal Ritter High School became the first high school to win a state championship on the field, beating Sheridan High School 34–27 for the class A state title.

The first Colts game at the stadium was a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on August 24, 2008, which ended in 20-7 loss. The Colts faced the Chicago Bears in a rematch of Super Bowl XLI in their first regular season game in the stadium on September 7, which ended in a 29-13 defeat.

Soccer

The stadium hosted its first soccer game on August 1, 2013, when Chelsea played Inter Milan in a first-round game of the International Champions Cup, drawing 41,983 fans.

Date	Winning Team	Result	Losing Team	Tournament	Spectators
August 1, 2013	Chelsea	2–0	Inter Milan	2013 International Champions Cup First Round	41,983

From 2018 to 2020, Lucas Oil Stadium served as the home field of the United Soccer League's Indy Eleven, replacing the venue the team used while in the North American Soccer League, Carroll Stadium.

Basketball

In March 2021, various rounds of the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament were moved to Lucas Oil Stadium as part of the NCAA's decision to consolidate the tournament into sites in Indiana as it could not be held across the United States due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Lucas Oil hosted games in all rounds (except the "First Four"), including the Final Four and championship game every 5 years up until 2040.

In June 2023, Lucas Oil Stadium was announced to host all Saturday night events as part of the 2024 NBA All-Star Game festivities that occurred on February 2024.

Entertainment

On August 9, 2006, Drum Corps International (DCI) announced that it would move its corporate offices to Indianapolis and that the DCI World Championships would be the inaugural event for the stadium and would be held at Lucas Oil Stadium every year through 2018. In 2015, Drum Corps International and the city of Indianapolis announced a 10-year contract extension, allowing the World Championships to continue through 2028. The competition was held for the first time at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2009.

Other regular events include the Bands of America Grand National Championships and the Indiana Marching Band State Finals, both major events for the city in marching band competitions.

Concerts

The total cost of Lucas Oil Stadium was $720 million. The stadium is being financed with funds raised by the State of Indiana and the City of Indianapolis, with the Indianapolis Colts providing $100 million. Marion County has raised taxes for food and beverage sales, auto rental taxes, innkeeper's taxes, and admission taxes for its share of the costs. Meanwhile, there has been an increase in food and beverage taxes in the eight surrounding doughnut counties (with the exception of Morgan County) and the sale of Colts license plates.

The County Commissioners of each county voted whether to levy the 1% food and beverage tax proposed by Marion County. Sweetening the deal for those counties was that half of the revenue from the tax would stay in the respective county. Morgan County was the only county to turn down the offer, yet in a later vote, it levied its own 1% tax – thus keeping all of its additional generated revenue.

Budget shortfall

In August 2006, the Capital Improvement Board, which operates the stadium, estimated that operating expenses of the new stadium would be $10 million more per year than the RCA Dome. The board urged the Indiana General Assembly to authorize funding to cover the shortfall. The Indiana Legislature considered a bill to raise sales taxes statewide to cover the shortfall; however, this plan faced stiff opposition from legislators outside the Indianapolis metro area.

The assembly ultimately authorized a tax increase in Indianapolis-Marion County. In addition, the CIB trimmed staff and cut $10 million from its budget. Still, the agency anticipated a $20 million operating deficit for Lucas Oil Stadium in 2009. Anticipated expenses were $27.7 million—far outstripping the $7.7 million CIB expected to collect from its share of revenue from stadium events. The Colts organization has been criticized for the favorable lease terms and the high percentage of revenue it can keep under the terms of its agreements with the stadium authorities and there have been calls for the team to cover the shortfalls of the CIB. The Colts responded to these criticisms in an open letter to fans on September 16, 2009.

On September 8, 2013, after the Colts defeated the Oakland Raiders in the season opener, a rail over the opposing team tunnel collapsed, injuring two fans. One fan was transferred to the hospital for evaluation. No serious injuries were reported.

On September 3, 2015, three fans were injured by a bolt that fell from the roof of the stadium as it was being opened during an NFL preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The stadium was pronounced safe by officials, but the roof remained closed for events until a final investigation was completed as to why the bolt fell.

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  Early phases of construction
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  Satellite image
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  Mid-stage of construction

• List of current National Football League stadiums
• List of American football stadiums by capacity
• List of music venues
• List of attractions and events in Indianapolis
• List of tallest buildings in Indianapolis § Other structures
• List of tallest buildings in Indiana