Lucas Oil Stadium is one of the newer fields in the NFL, hosting the Indianapolis Colts since its opened on August 16, 2008. The price tag of this facility was approximately $720 million. It's located close to White River around the downtown region. Indianapolis and Indiana state increased taxes on a variety of goods, including food and beverage taxes, to pay for the facility. The team paid $100 million of the total cost.
The stadium is fondly referred to as “The House that Manning Built”, even through he only played four seasons on this field. Naming rights for the stadium were negotiated more than two years before opening, with Forrest Lucas of Lucas Oil agreeing to pay $121 million over 20 years. Each of the gates have corporate sponsorship, with Huntington Bank, Verizon, HHGregg and Lucas Oil paying more than a million each for naming rights.
One of the more distinctive features of Lucas Oil Stadium is the red brick exterior that was designed to match the surrounding downtown area in terms of architectural consistency. Added to the outside is an Indiana Limestone trim, similar to other major sports venues in the area, such as Hinkle Fieldhouse and Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Indianapolis Colts Stadium
The Indianapolis Colts tend to dominate at home, earning a 27-13 record over the past five years for a .675 winning percentage. Since they moved into Lucas Oil Stadium, they've only had a single year with a home losing record. This happened in 2011, when they went 2-6 at home. Overall, the Colts have a .714 winning percentage at Lucas Oil, with a home record of 40-16 over seven years.
Artificial turf makes up the field surface, using FieldTurf brand fake grass. In both the 2008 and 2010 NFLPA survey of the quality of playing fields, Lucas Oil was voted the best artificial playing turf in the league. The facility was designed with infrastructure that makes it easy to quickly convert from outdoor to indoor, depending on weather and the nature of the event. A giant sliding window opens to reveal a view of the city, and was the biggest moving glass wall in the world until the new facility for the Dallas Cowboys was completed. The retractable roof above the field is one of the biggest in the NFL.
In addition to impressing the players, Lucas Oil Stadium was voted sports facility of the year for 2009 by Street and Smith's SportsBusiness Journal.
Stadium Vitals
Date Opened: August 16th, 2008
Construction Cost: $720 million
Architect: HKS, Inc.; Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf, Inc.; A2so4 Architecture
Capacity Attendance: 70,000
Playing Surface: FieldTurf
Previous Indianapolis Colts Stadiums
Memorial Stadium; Hoosier Dome
Other Major Events
Super Bowl XLVI
After beating out Houston and Glendale for the privilege of hosting the championship game, Lucas Oil become the 2012 host of the Super Bowl. The New York Giants mounted a fourth quarter comeback, taking home the Vince Lombardi Trophy with a 21-17 win over the New England Patriots. The city plans on hosting the 2018 Super Bowl as well.
Draft Combine
The draft combine takes place annually before players are chosen by team and after the Super Bowl. This is where many of the top prospects show off their physical skills to scouts and other draft stakeholders for the NFL.
College Sports
Lucas Oil Stadium was home to the final four in 2010 and 2015, with the Women's Final Four slated to take place at this facility for the 2016 tournament. The men's final four will return in 2021 at the latest. The Big Ten Football Championship Game was first played at Lucas Oil in 2011.Indianapolis Colts Stadium