Wow! Got an inside look at Indy's brand-spanking new Lucas Oil Stadium today and it's a beauty. For just a tad under $800 million it should be. But this puppy is ginormous, dwarfing the soon-to-be imploded RCA Dome. A group of 26 HSE & Fishers band parents headed to the stadium today to run two concession stands for a season ticket holders open house. We work the stands every year as a fundraiser for the marching band. The draw for me (and others in our group) was a sneak peak at the house that tax dollars built. (Okay, to be fair, old man Lucas kicked in $170 million.)
If you're visiting Indy and don't have tickets to a Colts game, $7 buys you a guided tour of the stadium. Fork it over; it'll be worth it. In the photo the north end zone window is open and the roof is in the process of being opened. I'll never complain about washing a window at home again. The end zone window covers a whopping 22,000 square feet! And the roof: It's 4 acres operated by 140 7.5 horsepower motors. You can shop for a new flat panel TV before the game at HH Gregg on the main concourse, or apply for a loan at Hunington Bank (in order to finance the new TV, your season tickets, and have some pocket money for concessions during the big game). If your tummy gets to growling during the game there are 150 concession stands to choose from, but bring your piggy bank. Soda is $5.50, popcorn $4.75, a burger $8, and if a cold brew is more to your liking they're $7 for 20 ounces.
Besides football, this year the stadium will host NCAA Men's Regional Basketball, concerts, conventions, the Bands of America Grand National Championships, and a host of other events. And in 2012: The Superbowl. A fitting event for a super stadium. Go, Colts!
We were just a couple of faces in a crowd of more than 300,000 this afternoon taking in the action of the 92nd Indy 500. After arriving in Lot 2 more than five hours before the start of the race -- and having to sit around another 3 plus hours afterward to get out of the lot -- one might wonder if the hassle and cost is worth it. Arguably, the best seat in the house is just that: A seat at home in front of the TV. But so much of what makes the 500 the greateast spectactle in racing can only be experienced at the track. From the standing and prolonged ovation given by the crowd to members of the military who marched down pit lane before the start of the race to Jim Nabors singing Back Home Again In Indiana, the sights, sounds and smells of the track is what makes Indy Indy. The fly-over by F-16s, the balloon release and those famous words, "Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!" make the hassles of race day worth the effort. There's nothing like Indy in May.
that we could listen to drivers and their crews during the race. We were directly across from Sarah Fisher's pit and if you haven't followed her story throughout May, then it's nearly impossible to imagine what it was like when the field pulled away for the parade lap and there in the middle of the starting grid sat Fisher. We watched in horror as A.J. Foyt IV's car (also across from our seats) erupted in flames after pulling out of his pit box. While he went 19 laps down, Foyt did finish the race. Personally we were cheering for Helio or Tony Kanan, but it was neat to see Dixon dominate the entire month of May and bring it home with a win.
Because racing stats are important, here are ours: Tickets and parking $200. One t-shirt: $22. Liquid refreshment: 4 quarts of Gatorade, 10 Diet Cokes and 6 bottles of water. Three foot-long subs from Kroger were sacrificed in our honor, as were 10 pieces of fried chicken and assorted chips. Hey, it was a long day and we were hungry. Tomorrow morning I'll be online to renew our tickets for the 93rd running and will again question my sanity: Is the cost and time worth the effort? And next year I'll arrive home again sun burned and tired from a long day at the track. So come on down to Fishers next Memorial Day weekend and experience the electricty yourself by being another face in the crowd at the world's largest single sporting event. Besides, we have extra beds. And for those who wonder what Flora was up to: She took in a movie and wandered the new mall with a friend...and enjoyed a day of freedom from her two boys.
At 6 a.m. today, downtown Indy was quiet except for a handful of volunteers -- myself among them -- preparing the route for the 500 Festival Parade. All that carpet and the banners on both sides of the TV zone...yep, I helped put it up...and take it down when the parade was over. We also moved hundreds of barricades to block streets and zipped more zip ties than any one person should ever have to handle in a lifetime. This was my third year volunteering with the logistics crew, and while it's a lot of work, we get the best seat in the house for the parade. A quarter-million folks lined the parade route; it was a sell out again this year. And it took 7,000 volunteers to help make it happen.
from those along the parade route. There's something missing on race day when Back Home Again in Indiana isn't sung by Nabors. Dancing With the Stars favorites Julianne Hough and Helio Castronevez were on hand; Helio starts on the inside of row 2, while Hough will sing the National Anthem on race day. She performed at the beginning of the parade this afternoon with the Indianapolis Children's Choir. Governor Daniels rode his Harley in the parade and there were more celebrities on hand than you could shake a stick at.
If you're trying to figure out how cakes, bowls and bricks are connected...at least connected to us...let us help: Think graduation, Superbowl XLVI and the Indy's famous yard of bricks. So let's begin with graduation, as in Liz's. Liz finished high school classes last December but won't officially receive her diploma until May 31 when Hamilton Southeastern High School holds its annual commencement at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. This past Sunday, we all headed up north to Highland and Langel's Pizza (the gold standard by which all Indy-area pizzarias are measured) for her graduation party. It was great seeing old friends and former neighbors, and having a chance to catch up with one another. Of course Liz enjoyed seeing everyone, too, but she also liked opening those envelopes on the way home. For our part it was great not having to clean house, paint any rooms, or mow the yard. We let the folks at Langel's handle all the real work, and they did a super job.
Stadium under roof and rapidly nearing completion the one-time sleepy little Naptown will be party central come February 5, 2012. Indy has big plans in the works including a Superbowl village that will extend north from the circle all the way to the new stadium and include giant fire pits to keep fans warm. According to the NFL, is was Indy's "legacy project" that capped it for the city: A $9 million indoor practice facility that will be turned over to Indianapolis Public Schools after the Superbowl.
