IBJNews

BSU, IU plan to play football at Lucas Oil Stadium

Back to TopCommentsE-mailPrint

Ball State University has signed a contract to move its season-opening home football game against Indiana University to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, according to the Star-Press in Muncie.

BSU Athletic Director Tom Collins told the newspaper that stadium officials are expected to sign off on the deal by the end of the week.

The game is set for Sept. 3.

Collins said BSU has a goal to sell 40,000 tickets at an average cost of $40 each. If ticket sales meet expectations, the school expects to exceed $700,000 in additional profit beyond what a sold-out game at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie would generate. Capacity at the Muncie stadium is 22,500.

Ball State has hosted only one other Big Ten team in school history, on Sept. 9, 2006, when IU beat Ball State, 24-23.

Ball State ranked last in home attendance among the 120 Football Subdivision Schools last season, with an average of 8,947 spectators per game. The game against IU at Lucas Oil Stadium will still be considered a home game, Collins told the newspaper, bolstering the team’s average attendance figure next season.
 


ADVERTISEMENT
  • 40,000?
    Given that BSU football is not very good, and that now the game will not be played on campus, how does Collins anticipate selling 40,000 tickets with the home attendance the lowest among 120 Football Subdivision Schools? Obviously the vast majority will come from IU. Will IU be that interested in watching BSU? Probably not. Maybe the novelty of watching a game in Lucas Oil will draw some people�but 40,000?
  • What?
    I'm pretty sure there will be more IU fans at this game than Ball State fans despite it being a "home" game for Ball State. IU averaged about five times as many fans at home games as BSU last year so you know exactly why Ball State wants to play this game in Indy to draw more IU fans than they would in Muncie.
  • Football game at Lucas Oil
    Well, at least there is one team people care about - Ball State!

Post a comment to this story

COMMENTS POLICY
We reserve the right to remove any post that we feel is obscene, profane, vulgar, racist, sexually explicit, abusive, or hateful.
 
You are legally responsible for what you post and your anonymity is not guaranteed.
 
Posts that insult, defame, threaten, harass or abuse other readers or people mentioned in IBJ editorial content are also subject to removal. Please respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from posting personal information.
 
No solicitations, spamming or advertisements are allowed. Readers may post links to other informational websites that are relevant to the topic at hand, but please do not link to objectionable material.
 
We may remove messages that are unrelated to the topic, encourage illegal activity, use all capital letters or are unreadable.
 

Messages that are flagged by readers as objectionable will be reviewed and may or may not be removed. Please do not flag a post simply because you disagree with it.

Sponsored by
ADVERTISEMENT

facebook - twitter on Facebook & Twitter

Follow on TwitterFollow IBJ on Facebook:
Follow on TwitterFollow IBJ's Tweets on these topics:
 
Subscribe to IBJ
  1. Lauren: I reported BJ's plans based on their filing for construction permits. Of course, it's possible the plans fell through. Will update if I can find out more.

  2. This weekend the Indianapolis School of Ballet performed Russian Treasures at the Scottish Rite Cathedral Theater for huge, enthusiastic crowds. This group of young people, returning students and young guest artists did fantastic performances of Balanchine's Valse-Fantaisie, Swan Lake Act II, Raymonda Act III and Allegro Vivace. I was blown away by the professionalism and energy of this school, which is on the caliber with most professional companies. If you're looking for great dancing and production value, this downtown venue is worth seeing and supporting.

  3. Are they indeed going up there? I was told by BJ's directly they had no new stores planned in the area...

  4. The article mentions that Indiana casinos are losing revenue to Ohio and Illinois casinos, but neglects to mention that those regional competitors are smoke-free for worker health.

    In other words, Indiana's smoke-filled casinos are losing revenue to smoke-free competitors - without a local or statewide clean air law in Indiana to blame for it. Meanwhile, Indiana's casino workers, in order to provide for their family in a tough economy, must face the health hazards of secondhand smoke on a daily basis including cancer, heart disease, COPD, and many other preventable diseases, and associated healthcare costs.

    Indiana lawmakers should take a cue from states like Ohio, Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts and ensure that casino jobs don't sicken the very people those jobs are intended to help. Even sophisticated casino ventilation systems do not protect people from the serious health hazards of secondhand smoke.

  5. Some bump day, huh? Why were Loyd and Hamilton not allowed to run? Both say they had rides. It must be all part of the Vision. The good news is no traffic and plenty of room to stretch out. It would be nice if someone picked up some trash, there was so much trash in the Paddock Penthouse yesterday it looked like a Hulman George family reunion.

ADVERTISEMENT