Lucas Oil Stadium’s retractable roof continues to be the center of much debate. How much use the convertible
ceiling at LOS will get remains to be seen. But after a few phone calls this week, I did get a little more information on
the cost of the retractable roof.
It’s difficult to say just how much the retractable roof cost, because the steel used in the roof also supports other parts of the building and includes things like stairs and catwalks near the ceiling, said Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority Director John Klipsch.
Klipsch said trying to figure out the exact cost of the roof is like trying to figure out how much of the money you spend on a pair of shoes goes toward supporting the weight of your shoulder. Good one. Point taken. But there are some interesting facts that shed a little light on the cost.
The steel that went into making the roof and supports the structure costs $83.2 million. The parts and labor for the moving components of the roof and retractable window on the stadium’s north end cost $15.6 million. The annual maintenance budget (labor and parts) for the roof is $270,000, with another $30,000 allocated for the window. So routine maintenance for the roof and window for the next decade will be at least $3 million. Minnesota-based Uni-Systems Inc. has the maintenance contract for the retractable roof and window.
By the time the project was put in the hands state officials, the city’s Capital Improvements Board and Indianapolis Colts already determined that a retractable roof for the stadium was a must. “We never did a study on what the costs of a retractable roof would be compared to a standard roof,” Klipsch said. “If that was ever discussed, it was done before we got involved.”
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Lets wait a year and find out how many times the roof is open for concerts, conventions, trade shows, other sporting events etc.... And in reality, a real accounting cannot be done until 2010 when the CC expansion is fuly opertional and we are using both facilities to the maximum. Trying to decide if it was worth it after a few months is asinine.
The interesting thing is there are more high school games played at LOS than Colts games. There are more conventions and trade shows than Colts games. But everyone has to keep going back and calling it the Colts Stadium.
It's obvious - because the high schools and trade shows pay to use the LOS and do not receive revenue from the Colts use. However, the Colts receive revenue from ALL events at LOS.
And the Colts insisted on the retractable roof at a cost of $15.6 million capital and $300k per year. Who pays that cost? not the Colts.
A stadium would still have been built with or without the Colts. As large? Maybe not, but the reason Indy is such a prime location for Conventions and trade shows is because it is one of the only CC's with a major stadium attached. We still would have needed a large open floor for events like the 40,000+ church conventions, a display floor for events like the FDIC, a 40,000+ seating capacity for the NCAA tourneys etc.... Without the flexibility of an attached stadium, the $3 billion+ in convention spending would be considerably less, and I doubt that the expansion would have been necessary.
Indymoon,
Oh yes, back to the old tired arguments. Ok, lets set you straight, The Colts pay to use the stadium as well. I beleive the number is $120,000 for 10 games. Not sure what others pay. As far as the Colts receiving a percentage of revenue, with a contribution to the stadium of 100 million, I would expect they deserve some return on that investment.
All users of the stadium pay for the retractable roof as does the average taxpayer at a couple of cents a Big Mac. So since the Colts pay to use the stadium, and they draw 100,000's of fans downtown during the season, who spend millions on food and drink, they pay a pretty good percent as well.
so all that said, it is much more than a stadium for the Colts.
The IHSAA paid $250k for 2 days and they expressed concern that they may not be able to afford that in future years.
Also, the $100 million was money the Colts were going to earn from Dome revs. It is more than offset by Colts rev from LOS.