From Amerisurv... The new 63,000-seat-plus Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis will no doubt serve notice to sports fans, sports media and industry around the nation that the Circle City is a serious entertainment and convention business player.
The facility is designed for multi-purpose use, thanks largely to a first-of-its-kind retractable roof-the design, surveying and construction of which used extraordinary techniques and concepts necessary to overcome some challenges that were unique to the project, which broke ground in September 2005.
Interesting facts about Lucas Oil Stadium:
Seating: 63,000 for football; 70,000-plus for other events such as basketball and concerts
• Cost: $715.4 million $719.6 million (est.)
• Seven levels (vs. three in RCA Dome)
• 1.8 million square feet
• 183,000 square feet of exhibit space
• 137 luxury suites (vs. 104 in RCA Dome)
• Retractable roof opening: 176,400 square feet (more than four acres)
• Time to open and close roof: nine to 11 minutes
• Total roof weight: 14,000 tons-plus
• 130,000 cubic yards of cast-in-place concrete
• 16,000 tons of steel
• 700 pieces of structural precast concrete
• 1,440 pieces of architectural precast
• 9,100 pieces of exterior glass
