Construction of Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis is rapidly moving forward, with the sports and entertainment facility scheduled to open in August. The massive, seven-level structure — the new home of the Indianapolis Colts — will feature a retractable roof, and will seat 63,000 for football and up to 70,000 for basketball, conventions, concerts, and other special events.
The project is approximately 70-percent complete, according to Bob May, a contract manager for Hunt Construction Group. Hunt is the construction manager for the project, and is assisted by Smoot Construction, LLC and Mezzetta Construction Inc. HKS Inc., Dallas, is the lead architect.
About 1,050 workers are on site, with numerous construction operations proceeding. Structural steel work on the stadium's bowl is in place, and the cranes used for that operation have been removed. Work in the stadium suites continues, and crews continue to work on underground utilities, complete exterior curtain wall, install seats, place ornamental railings, and finish out concessions areas.
As of early December, $402 million worth of construction had been completed. Crews had poured approximately 415,000 square feet of slab-on-grade out of 600,000 square feet; set 3,280 pieces of structural precast out of 3,700 pieces; set 1,123 pieces of architectural precast out of 1,440 pieces; installed 7,917 pieces of exterior glass out of 9,100 pieces; installed 9,350 seats (average of various stages of installation) out of 55,000 (excluding seats on retractable seating and suites).
Construction of the retractable roof is well under way, with completion anticipated in mid-July.