City: Indianapolis, IN

Category: Spectator Sports

Telephone: (317) 297-7000

Address: 7001 W. 56th St.

Description: The new, state-of-the-art, 63,000-seat stadium is the permanent home of the Indianapolis Colts, as well as a venue for future NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Final Fours. Lucas Oil Stadium will also play host to the 2012 Super Bowl. With a grand opening on August 14, 2008, the $719 million stadium has an infill playing surface, seven locker rooms, exhibit space, meeting rooms, dual two-level club lounges, 137 suites, retractable sideline seating, spacious concourses, and much more. Football games can be played indoors or outdoors using the retractable roof and operable north window. Concerts can be played indoors or outdoors in full-stadium or reduced-house configurations. The retro look to the new stadium is a result of Indianapolis’s affinity for the historic field-house appearance of sports venues from decades ago. Conseco Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, and the Pepsi Coliseum are other examples of large sports venues, both old and new, around the city with the same type of design. After nearly 40 years in Baltimore, the Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984. With coaches such as Don Shula and players like Johnny Unitas, the Colts had won two World Championships and the 1971 Super Bowl for Baltimore. However, owner Robert Irsay wanted Baltimore to upgrade the team’s stadium. Negotiations reached such an acrimonious point that Irsay began shopping his team around to other cities. Indianapolis was one of those. In late March 1984 a deal was struck and Mayflower moving trucks (chosen because Indy was Mayflower’s headquarters) arrived in the dead of night and moved the Colts gear to Indianapolis. That secretive move is often referred to as “the midnight ride of the Colts.” In 2007 the team won its first Super Bowl since moving to Indianapolis, defeating the Chicago Bears 29-17. Quarterback Peyton Manning and former coach Tony Dungy are heroes in Indianapolis, not only for their sports expertise but also for their excellent sportsmanship and efforts to help the community and young people in particular. Colts tickets start at $44.