July 23, 2004
City officials are reviewing designs for a new
Indianapolis Colts stadium drafted by three architectural firms
hired earlier this year to help determine whether a new Downtown
arena is feasible.
Computer designs, 3-D models and cost estimates for
a 70,000-seat stadium have been in the works for months, but
officials in Mayor Bart Peterson's administration refused to make
the designs public.
The Capital Improvement Board, the city body
overseeing the RCA Dome, requested the designs in March and paid
three firms $35,000 each for their work -- even as city officials
insist they have not decided whether to replace the 20-year-old
dome.
"We were really looking to get ideas and feedback
as part of the feasibility assessment," said Fred Glass, president
of the quasi-governmental board and one of the city's top
negotiators in talks with the Colts.
"It truly is an assessment piece, not an
implementation piece."
Talk of a new stadium, kept under wraps for months
by city and Colts officials, is now directly linked to developing
plans to expand the Indiana Convention Center -- a necessary move,
the city has said, to stay competitive in the convention
industry.
In a March 25 letter, the board asked four firms to
submit design proposals by May. The letter asked those firms to
keep several assumptions in mind, such as:
• A new stadium would have a capacity of
63,000 -- adjustable to up to 70,000 -- with 120 suites and 7,500
club seats. That compares with the RCA Dome's 57,890 seats and 104
suites.
• The arena would have a fixed roof instead of
a retractable roof -- like the kind in use at Houston's Reliant
Stadium. The letter, however, suggests designers should provide a
retractable-roof alternative.
• The building would be located on 25 acres
south of the Indiana Convention Center, which could be expanded by
200,000 to 275,000 square feet into an area now occupied by the RCA
Dome.
Three firms responded to the letter: Ellerbe
Becket, of Kansas City, Mo., which designed the Arizona
Diamondbacks' Bank One Ballpark; HOK Sport, also of Kansas City,
which designed Reliant Stadium; and Dallas-based HKS
Architects.
A fourth company, Kansas City-based HNTB Corp.,
which designed the original RCA Dome, did not respond, Glass
said.
None of the design companies returned phone calls
seeking comment.
Glass refused to disclose cost estimates produced
by the firms but said the board has been working on an assumption
that a fixed-roof stadium would cost roughly $450 million.
The Colts and the city have been in negotiations
for a new long-term contract since late 2002. The team's lease runs
through the 2013 season. But the contract includes an escape clause
that could kick in after the 2006 season if the team's revenue
doesn't consistently match the National Football League's median
income.
Source: IndyStar.com
Last year, Mayor Bart Peterson said it was
reasonable to assume the two sides would sign a new lease this
year. Weeks later, Colts owner Jim Irsay said such a deal would
likely include "something that would lead to a new stadium."
Peterson refused to comment on the letter Thursday.
His chief deputy, Michael O'Connor, said the need to expand the
Convention Center is currently a bigger factor than the Colts
lease, in terms of stadium planning.
"We're going to have to plan for a new venue" if
the Convention Center is built into the current RCA Dome space,
O'Connor said. "We've been very clear that we're going to expand
the Convention Center."
City and Colts officials would not comment on what
impact the designs have had on contract talks with the team.
Reached Thursday, Colts Senior Executive Vice
President Pete Ward refused to comment on the designs.
The two sides met last week in a negotiating
session that both Irsay and Peterson attended, O'Connor said. He
said the designs were not directly discussed at the meeting.
The request for those designs was not approved by
the Capital Improvement Board. That would have made the issue
public. Instead, a "building task force" created by the board
authorized the request, Glass said. The letter is marked
confidential and asks firms not to share its contents.
On Thursday, The Star filed a formal request for
the stadium designs under the state's open-records law.
Asked why the letter was kept secret and why
designs would not be released to the public, O'Connor said there
was nothing wrong with commissioning the work in private.
He added that the public would have a chance to
weigh in on designs later.
"None of these are proposals," O'Connor said. "They
are conceptual models."
At least one sports expert said it makes sense to
work out conceptual designs before sealing a deal with a team. That
way, officials know what they're getting into.
Cleveland State University sports economist Mark
Rosentraub added that Indianapolis' positioning was not uncommon in
other cities.
"If you're going to do a deal with a team, you have
to be sure of your goals and objectives," Rosentraub said. "It
sounds like Indianapolis is taking a step in the right
direction."
COLTS SHOW OFF NEW STADIUM
September 11, 2008
Copyright 2008 MediaVentures
Indianapolis, Ind. - Commissioner Roger Goodell attended the first regular-season game in the
Indianapolis Colts' new $720 million home, and was struck by everything the facility had to offer.
"It's spectacular," Goodell said prior to the Colts' season opener against the Chicago Bears. "I
had a chance to walk around a little before the game and it's got a lot of character."
The retractable roof was open as was the sliding window on the north side of the stadium.
"The biggest thing was the glass windows at the end," Goodell said. "It's just striking the way it just brings the whole community into the facility. It's got a lot of character.
"I think it represents this community very effectively."
Lucas Oil Stadium will be the epicenter of the NFL when Indy hosts Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.
On a non-Lucas Oil Stadium issue, Goodell said the league is looking into altering its current
schedule of 16 regular-season games and four or five preseason games. Ideally, the result will be
18 regular-season games and two preseason games.
"We're giving serious consideration to it,'' Goodell said. "There are still significant challenges ahead, but we think it's compelling from the standpoint of the quality of our preseason and reducing that by two, adding those two into regular-season games. (Indianapolis Star)
OPERATING COSTS JUMP IN INDIANAPOLIS
September 18, 2008
Copyright 2008 MediaVentures
Indianapolis, Ind. Ð The costs of operating Lucas Oil Stadium could leave the city with a budget
hole twice as large as earlier projected.
Officials at the Capital Improvement Board, which operates the city's stadiums and convention
center, plan to draw $25 million from reserves this year and in 2009, $20 million of which will go to higher stadium operating costs.
Previous estimates put the extra costs of running the new stadium at about $10 million.
Lucas Oil Stadium, at 1.8 million square feet, is nearly double the size of the
soon-to-be-imploded RCA Dome, so its higher operating costs aren't surprising. It needs more
people to work on its cleaning crews, with its food vendors and in parking. Its water and electricity costs are higher, too. CIB officials weren't able to provide numbers on how many more game-day workers are needed, but the full-time staff has increased by 52 employees.
With the higher costs, CIB budgets for this year and next show the agency's operating fund
balance dwindling to $5.6 million next year.
Officials anticipate that an expanded Indiana Convention Center Ð expected by late 2010 Ð and
the new business it attracts eventually will help cover the CIB's operating costs.
But if those new revenues fall short, the CIB's reserves could be wiped out.
CIB Chairman Bob Grand said he is concerned about the rapid depletion of reserves and how
the CIB will cover expenses in 2010. Two years ago, CIB officials said they were confident a
solution would be found, but the size of the projected gap has only widened.
"We're making guesses until we have actual numbers," Grand said. "We're bleeding cash right
now, absolutely."
Officials say they want to get through a full Colts season to get a better handle on the increased costs at Lucas Oil Stadium before making any long-term decisions.
They also said it's premature to discuss options such as more taxes, user fees, or asking the
state or the Colts for help.
"The (increased costs) number is definitely more than $10 million but probably less than $20
million," Lathrop said. "We want to be sure we have the flexibility in case we have to fix
something."
The CIB projected its operating budget would increase from $58 million in 2007 to $78 million
next year.
The budget also contains good news, projecting revenues from setup, rentals and food sales to
double in 2009, when Lucas Oil Stadium will be open to events other than football for the entire
year instead of just four months, as it is this year.
Barney Levengood, the CIB's executive director, said the stadium is already drawing higher
numbers of people - more than 400,000 in August, its first month of operation, compared with
about 600,000 in the last Colts season at the dome.
Team officials have said the bigger stadium means more tax revenues for the city. They also
estimated the team and its employees will pay about $1 billion in taxes over the 30 years they've
promised to stay in the city as a result of the stadium deal. (Indianapolis Star)
Copyright 2008 by iPhotoIndy, whom we thank very much.
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| RCA Dome Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 9 |
| Concessions | | 6 |
| Scoreboard | | 6 |
| Ushers | | 7 |
| Fan Support | | 7 |
| Location | | 8.5 |
| Banners/History | | 4 |
| Entertainment | | 8 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 8.5 |
| Bonus: Tailgate Scene | | 1 |
| Bonus: White Castle Nearby | | 1 |
| Bonus: Entertainment @ Each Gate | | 1 |
| Bonus: Kick Ass Town | | 1 |
| Bonus: Retractable Roof and Wall | | 1 |
| Bonus: Main Gate and Atrium | | 1 |
| Total Score |  | 70 |
October 12, 2008 - We used to roll out these things within days of our official visits, so apologies for taking so long to get this up on the USRT site.
Nonetheless, we are pleased to unveil the official venue profile for Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the NFL Indianapolis Colts.
We met and deliberated just yesterday to come up with the scores for each of the criteria in how we evaluate a sports venue. Here are the scores (10 pts maximum per category).
So 70 points is good enough to earn the Colts a 6th place tie in our rankings of all 32 NFL teams that also means that our home team and stadium, Ralph Wilson Stadium, drops to 30th place in the USRT matrix. Yikes!
Over! Done! Once again, the Ultimate Sports Road Trip hit the finish line, as this afternoon we attended a game of the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. When we did our ceremonial signing of "The Good Book", we could once again claim that we have attended a home game of each of the 122 teams in the four major sports in their current and active venue.
This day started on a sundrenched, summery, bucolic day here in downtown Indianapolis, and we headed out early to soak it all in. After doing the WHite Castle run for some grub, we checked out the tailgate scene, and toured the neighborhood to grab pictures.
Tailgating here is pretty good, with most of the open lots south of Union Station and the rail trellace which separates the center part of downtown from the stadium area. The new construction around here consists of several hotels, interspersed with some warehouses and light industrial, and even a couple of charming neighborhoods with rowhouses and victorian style cottages. You can tell the old from the new, as most of the stadium itself and the new construction you can literally smell the new pavement, landscape beds, streetscapes and such - it all looks and feels new.
Lucas Oil Stadium is a magnificent edifice - tall, massive, stately and so dominant on the cityÕs skyline. The facade is red brick, steel and glass; the stadium marquee gleams at the top of the building; watching the roof, and the north wall, retract and open to the elements is a sight to behold. Outside there is entertainment at each of the four major entrances, a family fun zone on the east side with childrenÕs games, live music and food as well as corporate booths selling all kinds of stuff. But the signature entrance is the north side facing downtown. That is the Lucas Oil Gate, and walking into the building from that vantage point gives you a real "wow factor". The massive lobby here looks like a 50s retro theme - race cars, Lucas Oil paraphernalia, diner stle concession stands, and a sweeping view of the seating bowl.
Each separate entrance has a corporate sponsor and its own "wow" lobby. The concourses here are full of color, banners, signage, ads, marquees and exhibits which mute what would other be austere grey concrete.
The seating bowl has a steep upward pitch which makes for great viewing, save for the 600 seats (where we sat) which are somewhat high up. Club seating here is on the 200/300 level sidelines, and the best sideline seats in the 100s, which also have their own private club lounges. The scoreboards here are a bit of a disappointment - video board hang off center in two corners of the stadium and are not that special, and the ribbon boards on the 200 deck are not really utilized all that well. The game clock, down and score graphics are small and hard to find (located in the end zones).
If we kvetched about the snoozer of a game we saw in Bloomington yesterday, this one was just as bad - the Colts absolutely decimated the visiting Baltimore Ravens, winning 31-3. You would think the hometown fans would be hooting and hollering as they left the building. After all this was their historic first wine ever at LOS. But the quiet shuffle of the crowd walking back towards downtown and to their cars and homes suggested that these were really tea and crumpet fans, and no frikkin way can they hang with the Bills crazies at RWS.
So here we are for one more great night in the Big City. WeÕre bailing on the St. Elmo idea and heading to one of many awesome brewpubs or sports bars for some grub, gonna watch the NLCS (go Phillies!).
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