IndianaColt
10-19-2005, 02:28 PM
The RCA dome has to be one of the toughest places for a visiting team to play in. I did not go to the game on Monday Night but I could hear it on T.V. and it sounded extremely loud. I think Madden made a comment about the noise. I went to the Ravens game last year and it was so loud where I was I could not hear myself think. I hope we get home field advantage throughout the playoffs, it will be very tough for opposing teams to beat us at home.
1995colts
10192005, 02:31 PM
i went to the last 2 home playoff games and the last 2 monday night games and it is absolutely incredible loud. bill pollian said last night on the radio that he could actually feel the press box shaking because the crowd was so loud.
Stokley_Fan
10192005, 03:34 PM
Its loud when we are on defense but eeirly quite while the offense is at work! The fans have been trained very well. :)
KYColtsFan
10192005, 03:38 PM
they better get the new stadium built before next season. if it's all that and we get HFA in the playoffs, then you gotta believe there'll be no more roof on The Dome.
DungyBoy
10192005, 03:52 PM
they better get the new stadium built before next season. if it's all that and we get HFA in the playoffs, then you gotta believe there'll be no more roof on The Dome.Well the Stadium is supposed to be done in 2008 ....... and why would you want it open in DecJan during the playoffs :{ when it is COLD that time of year ?
DossFX
10192005, 03:56 PM
i think he was making a joke about the fans being so loud they would knock the roof off.
KYColtsFan
10192005, 04:00 PM
i was thinkin' more along the lines of blowin' the roof off (has more impact than knockin', plus they don't allow fans to bring hammers.), but yeah. DossFX knows the score.
coltsfanforlife88
10192005, 04:38 PM
i think he was making a joke about the fans being so loud they would knock the roof off.
I'm surprised that the roof is still there! (lol)
I think there was a couple times during the game that the Rams were called for being offsides because it was so loud there. Maybe I'm wrong (wouldn't be the first time).
I think I remember one of the announcers saying that that was why they were offsides.:)
DossFX
10192005, 05:20 PM
Well keep it up. Wish I could be there to help.
jaric
10192005, 05:28 PM
I'm surprised that the roof is still there! (lol)
I think there was a couple times during the game that the Rams were called for being offsides because it was so loud there. Maybe I'm wrong (wouldn't be the first time).
I think I remember one of the announcers saying that that was why they were offsides.:)
As a fan at the game it feels really good when the rams would false start when we got really loud. We actually get to impact the game in a positive way for our team. Makes you feel like you were a real part of the win.
louisbailey2
10192005, 05:55 PM
Manning has said befoe that crowd noise is really beneficial to throw off the opponet...any one recall the game back in the day when Indy was penalilzed for the noise the fans made?
Ghost49
10192005, 07:01 PM
Manning has said befoe that crowd noise is really beneficial to throw off the opponet...any one recall the game back in the day when Indy was penalilzed for the noise the fans made?
That had to be the worse rule in the book. Is it still in effect or did it get reprealed?
NeilKelty
10192005, 07:10 PM
Manning has said befoe that crowd noise is really beneficial to throw off the opponet...any one recall the game back in the day when Indy was penalilzed for the noise the fans made?
That doesn't sound like a rule...hmm...never know though:|
KYColtsFan
10192005, 07:33 PM
when the crowd is as loud as they can possibly be and they get a false start, they erupt. it's insane.
and MAN does the D feed off that. best part of Colts' home games, no doubt.
tst4eko
10192005, 09:13 PM
Its loud when we are on defense but eeirly quite while the offense is at work! The fans have been trained very well. :)
Remember those construction signs they used to put on the big screens trying to get people to shut up when the offense was on the field? :p
I was at the '04 Denver playoff game & the crowd was so loud, I could feel it in my ribcage rattling away plus it seemed like I could feel the air pressure changing rapidly in my ears. I tried yelling at my wife next to me & she couldn't hear me.
mwclarksr
10192005, 10:16 PM
Manning has said befoe that crowd noise is really beneficial to throw off the opponet...any one recall the game back in the day when Indy was penalilzed for the noise the fans made?
That was Holloween Monday night game with the Dan Dierdorf/Al Michaels face masks. The Colts played Denver (here of course) and Elway kept complaining to the officals that he couldn't hear. The Ref penelized the Colts for the noise but we just kept getting louder. Finally the Colts players started waving their arms in the quite down motion for us to calm down, we did a little but Elway still couldn't score a touchdown. I think that was the '87 season and our first Monday night game here. But I need some backup on the year and if it was our first. I know we scored 55 and they scored I think 17. At that time the Colts broke the record for most points scored on a Monday night game. Again I need back up.
But how many of you remember that game? That was the greatest. Elway's nickname was "Crybaby"
TubaGuy
10192005, 10:19 PM
That was Holloween Monday night game with the Dan Dierdorf/Al Michaels face masks. The Colts played Denver (here of course) and Elway kept complaining to the officals that he couldn't hear. The Ref penelized the Colts for the noise but we just kept getting louder. Finally the Colts players started waving their arms in the quite down motion for us to calm down, we did a little but Elway still couldn't score a touchdown. I think that was the '87 season and our first Monday night game here. But I need some backup on the year and if it was our first. I know we scored 55 and they scored I think 17. At that time the Colts broke the record for most points scored on a Monday night game. Again I need back up.
But how many of you remember that game? That was the greatest. Elway's nickname was "Crybaby"
I was at that game and remember. It used to be that if a QB felt he couldn't hear well enough, he could back away and look to the officials. After the 2nd time the officials would give a crowd warning. It was one of the best rule changes the league has made.
DungyBoy
10192005, 10:22 PM
i think he was making a joke about the fans being so loud they would knock the roof off.LOL I gotcha I was thinking that he was talking about the retractable roof that the new stadium is gonna have.......YEah lets BLOW the ROOF off with the noise............
The grand opening of the $77.5 million Hoosier Dome (the original name) was May 3, 1984.
The dome is 19 stories tall and has 348,480 square feet.
The number of permanent seats: 56,127 - including 104 luxury suites and 4,532 club seats. Record attendance for a single event was 67,596 for the U.S. Olympic team vs. the NBA All-Stars on July 9, 1984.
In 1994, Thomson Consumer Electronics signed a $10 million, 10-year contract with the Capital Improvement Board changing the name of the Hoosier Dome to the RCA Dome. In January 2004, Thomson extended the deal for another five years. A full 20-year deal would result in a payment of $23.5 million.
In 1998, The Colts renegotiated their lease with the city. For details on the new lease see Highlights of the Colts agreement below.
LEASE TERM: 20-year lease at the RCA Dome, nee Hoosier Dome, renewable for up to 10 additional years. The Dome is operated by the Capital Improvement Board (CIB), a city agency.
RENT: Colts agreed to pay the CIB $250,000 annually plus $25,000 per playoff game. Colts pay the CIB five percent of gross ticket sales through an admissions tax, amounting to about $465,000 annually. Colts pay CIB's expenses for ticket-takers, security guards and other personnel on game days, about $200,000 annually. Rent paid to CIB per game between $90,000 and $100,000.
TRAINING FACILITY: CIB to provide temporary training and office center for Colts at the former Fall Creek Elementary School. CIB to build a permanent facility costing $3 million to $4 million, which Colts can buy for $4 million.
GUARANTEES: For 12 years, CIB guarantees Colts annual revenue of $7 million from ticket sales and broadcast revenues of more than $800,000. If not met, CIB pays Colts the difference.
LOAN: Colts have $12.5 million loan for ten years at 8 percent interest from Merchants National Bank. CIB pays difference between prime rate and the 8 percent level.
LOCAL CONTROL: CIB can try to match any offer to buy controlling interest in the Colts.
SUITES: Colts receive first $500,000 annually from suite rentals at the Hoosier Dome.
LEASE RENEGOTIATION: On Jan. 14, 1998, the Colts and the city agreed to a renegotiated lease which would give the team $8.9 million from advertising, parking and suite revenues at home games. The city also agreed to spend up to $18 million to upgrade the RCA Dome. The city retained a lease expiring in 2014 that ties the Colts to Indianapolis through at least 2007. Beginning in 2007 the Colts may buy out their lease for $11 million for each year remaining on the lease. The city can prevent this by ensuring that the Colts' revenue equals that of an average grossing NFL franchise
- Permanent seating: 60,500(configurations for basketball games seat up to 67,000)
- Stadium area: 7.25 acres (2 city blocks)
- Roof surface area: 8 acres (349,832 square feet)
- Roof height: 193 feet (19 stories) -- Height fluctuates five feet with varying weather conditions
- Roof weight: 514,505 lbs. (257 tons)
- RCA Dome floor space total: 95,000 sq. ft.
- Roof Panels (81): Teflon-coated fiberglass outside and canvas-like material inside
- Stadium floor: 95,000-square-foot concrete floor with built-in utility boxes every 30 feet.
- Concrete blocks: 484,360
- Electrical wiring: 1,961,917 feet (371.5 miles)
- Set-up time for an Indianapolis Colts game: 8 hours which includes rolling out 28 15-foot-wide rolls of Astroturf (each roll weighs two tons)
- 99 luxury suites
- The RCA Dome is one of six major air-supported stadiums in the world
By John Strauss
Indianapolis Star/News
INDIANAPOLIS (April 20, 1998) -- Holes in the RCA Dome could cost half a million dollars to fix, the arena's director said Monday.
A leaky roof might not make much difference in a football game, but "it's awkward having one little drip come down in the wrong place" during a convention or basketball game, said Barney Levengood, executive director of the Indiana Convention Center and RCA Dome.
Levengood briefed the Capital Improvement Board during its monthly meeting Monday and received the board's approval to look for a company to seal the roof. He estimated it will cost $400,000 to $500,000, with the money to come from a fund the board has for repairs to the facilities it oversees. Those facilities include the dome and Convention Center, Victory Field and the Indiana Fieldhouse, which is scheduled for completion in the fall of 1999.
The RCA Dome's roof had an expected life of seven years when it was put on during construction in 1984, Levengood said. With repairs, it probably will last 10 more years.
About $10 million in contracts for fieldhouse construction also were approved at Monday's meeting, including a $4 million contract for masonry that went to Hagerman Construction of Indianapolis. Hussey Seating of North Berwick, Maine, won a $3.3 million contract for seating, and Batts Construction of Indianapolis won a $2.2 million contract for brick work.
The board approved about $50,000 in fieldhouse "change orders," which require payments above amounts approved in contracts earlier. About three-quarters of the work on the $175 million fieldhouse has been contracted out, said Capital Improvement Board President Patrick Early.
"Our bids continue to come in within budget," he said.
"From time to time you'll have plans that don't contemplate these conditions or those conditions. But that's why you have (money for) contingencies on a project," he said.
RCA Dome gave life to Downtown
By Theodore Kim
December 20, 2004
Let the countdown to implosion begin.
As city officials move forward with plans to build
a new Indianapolis Colts stadium, each day will bring the
once-heralded RCA Dome closer to extinction.
Opened in 1984, it cost $77.5 million in both
public dollars and private donations; a 1 percent food-and-beverage
tax in Marion County restaurants, still in effect, helped pay for
the project.
The resulting stadium has occupied a unique nook in
the sporting universe as one of the few inflatable-roof stadiums in
the country.
Neither as hallowed as the former Boston Garden nor
as cutting-edge as Houston's Astrodome, the facility was
constructed in an era when nondescript coliseums were all the
rage.
The stadium's impact on Downtown Indianapolis'
revitalization, however, has been significant. Two decades ago,
city officials anticipated the stadium might infuse $30 million a
year into the local economy.
But nearly all observers agree the facility's
cumulative payoff has been exponentially higher. The stadium helped
anchor a cadre of Downtown redevelopment projects that have
transformed the city from a Rust Belt has-been to a vibrant
Midwestern metropolis.
At the time, erecting the dome was seen by many as
an enormous gamble. It was built before the Colts had agreed to
move from Baltimore to Indianapolis. But city leaders, led by
then-Mayor William H. Hudnut, viewed the facility's construction as
the best way to entice a major league football or baseball team --
or both.
Had the Colts gone elsewhere, the dome would have
been used primarily for amateur sporting events, large meetings,
concerts, conventions and, as many worried at the time, a lot of
tractor pulls.
As with any large facility, the dome has not been
without problems. The Teflon-coated fiberglass roof suffered from
leaks in 1998, prompting about $500,000 in repairs.
But in the years since it opened, the dome has
flourished, thrice hosting the NCAA men's basketball Final Four
games, as well as a slew of other major events, including the World
Indoor Track and Field Championships and several events during the
Pan American Games, both in 1987; the Farm Aid IV concert in 1990;
and the 1991 World Gymnastic Championships.
In addition, the facility has been renamed (from
the Hoosier Dome to the RCA Dome in 1994), garnered a reputation
for ranking among the loudest venues in professional football and
served as a centerpiece for a skyline that has grown by leaps and
bounds in the past two decades.
"Ten years and 159 NFL games haven't changed one fact about the RCA Dome: It's pleasant place to spend a Sunday. Not provocative. Not exciting. Not loud. Just pleasant.
The RCA Dome, formerly known as the Hoosier Dome sits near the heart of Indianapolis. It has a Teflon-coated fiberglass roof 19 stories high and weighs 257 tons. A day and a half is needed to set up the Dome for a Colts game, because workers have to roll out 28 -15 foot rolls of AstroTurf, each weighing two tons.
Given the Colts' recent record, all that work seems for naught. Since their move, the Colts never have approached the kind of success they had in Baltimore, and Indianapolis sports fans have yet to build a bandwagon for the team, let alone jump on it. In fact, many fans seem to view hom egames as a way to avoid raking the leaves on Sunday afternoons. Typical Midwestern politeness permeates the Dome. This makes for a relaxed and, well, pleasant atmosphere rather than the kind of heart-stopping, ear-ringing drama and noise at many other stadiums. If the Bears, Bengals or Browns are in town, the excitement does ease up and some folks go so far as to paint their faces. Still, the atmosphere on game days rarely - if ever - matches the electricity of the Indiana high school basketball tournament, the state's true sporting passion."
As written by The Sports Staff of USA TODAY in "The Complete Four Sport Stadium Guide" for Fodor's Sports
December 24, 2008
Copyright 2008 MediaVentures
Demolition crews imploded the RCA Dome in Indianapolis last Saturday. On all four
levels of the dome, crews had placed 610 pounds of nitroglycerin- based dynamite into pre-drilled
holes in the supporting columns. More than 100 workers have been involved in the demolition
process. In the hours after the implosion, work crews and safety personnel found no significant
damage to area buildings. A piece of steel penetrated the wall of a storeroom at the Indiana
Convention Center, but crews would quickly repair that. Demolishing the dome cost about $13
million, said Lori Dunlap, deputy director of the Indiana Stadium and Convention Building
Authority. That figure includes some site preparation for the convention center expansion, she said. The total project, including the dome demolition, will cost $275 million. (Indianapolis Star)
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| RCA Dome Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 3 |
| Concessions | | 2 |
| Scoreboard | | 3.5 |
| Ushers | | 7 |
| Fan Support | | 5 |
| Location | | 7 |
| Banners/History | | 5 |
| Entertainment | | 8.5 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 3 |
| Bonus: Tailgate Scene | | 1 |
| Bonus: Wholesale District | | 2 |
| Bonus: A Cappella National Athem | | 1 |
| Total Score |  | 48 |
September 25, 2000 - The RCA Dome is located in the center of downtown Indianapolis. The facility is adjacent to the new and exciting city's Wholesale District, teeming with shops, restaurants, a shopping mall and other attractions.
Go a few blocks east and you'll find the Pacers new home, Conseco Fieldhouse. Go west and you run right into newly opened Victory Field, home of the AAA baseball Indians, and just a bit farther is the NCAA Hall of Fame. This city's downtown core is clean, vibrant and alive with activity.
This being Monday Night Football, Indianapolis was jacked up, and despite a day long rainstorm, the streets were packed with fans heading out to the restaurants and then the game, and even the tailgaters were making the best of it under their tarps, trying to keep the grills going and keeping dry. Tailgating is not very big here, but the best areas that lend themselves to tailgating can be found in the open lots directly south of the stadium and on the other side of Union Station.
After a terrific dinner and checking out some souvenir shops, we made our way into the dome, and once inside, caught our first glimpse of a bright and airy two concourse facility. The stadium is laid out in a lower and upper concourse, and the lower midfield sections are designated as club seats, with access to a private lounge at floor level. A recent renovation added a ring of suites around the lower level. There is no team merchandise store, and the small kiosks only sell a few basic souvenirs.
The Bowl
The seating bowl is pretty non descript and ordinary, all blue seats, and very small video boards located above each end zone. The climb to the higher seats in the upper deck was a pretty long one. There are some support pillars ringing the top of the upper deck, meaning that some top row seats have an obstructed view.
Concessions
Ballpark dreck and that was it. Thankfully we had a big meal before coming here. These guys really need to upgrade their menu selection.
Event Presentation
As a special occasion, the fans were asked to sing the national anthem and display their voices as the 12th Man. No celebrity artist - no instrumental accompaniment, just an MC singing the first few words and then letting the crowd take over singing a cappella. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was singing, and it was actually a very emotional rendition.
The Colts do an excellent job with video clips and clever ads on their video boards. Much of their music is oldies and classic stuff (William Tell Overture for each kickoff). They also use a TV station to do sports updates and weather reports during the breaks, kind of like the Sabres with their "Empire Sports Report" during the intermissions.
Yes, they did congratulate the Indianapolis Indians for winning the AAA World Series the week before, and this was announced during a media timeout. This was met with scattered applause. *sigh*. As in Buffalo, the football team reigns supreme and minor league baseball is still a passion for the devotees.
Banners/Retired Numbers
Owner Robert Irsay's name hangs at midfield, supported by two other names from the Indianapolis era, but that is it. This franchise's greatest moments occurred when a man named Johnny Unitas led this team in a city called Baltimore. The folks around here act as if life began when the moving vans pulled up in 1984.
Extra Points
When we dropped by Conseco Fieldhouse, we picked up a brochure touting the new Arena Football team - the "Indiana Firebirds". Hey, last we knew, weren't they just the Albany Firebirds? And the AFL champs to boot! Did the moving vans also pull out of the Pepsi Arena in Albany in the dead of night??? That would be soooo Indianapolis!
The two guys sitting in front of us were from DALLAS. Of course, we could not resist talking "No Goal" smack throughout the night. During the anthem, we "booed" the word "Stars" the first time, but they rebounded by shouting "Stars" on the second turn. Touche!
Summary
What better a setting than seeing NFL football in person on a Monday Night! Play Hank William's "Are You Ready For Some Football" theme on the PA and it's like turning on a switch. On this night, the Indianapolis experience did not disappoint. The fans were loud and crazy, the home team rolled over the Jaguars, and we had a great time. Based on the new NFL venues that we have seen, however, we can't help but believe that the Colts will probably be looking for a new stadium sometime soon.
