Colts stadiums over the years

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Lucas Oil Stadium is iconic, not solely is it the house of the Colts, nevertheless it’s hosted every part from live shows, the Faculty Soccer Playoff, to a Tremendous Bowl. So as to perceive the significance of the stadium now, it’s a must to perceive the place it began.

Larry Corridor is the Vice President of Particular Initiatives and Historic affairs for the Colts, he’s been with the Indianapolis Colts from the start.

“The Colts moved from Baltimore, packed on March 28 arrived on March 29 of 1984, I began two months to the day after the Mayflower landed. Could 29 of 84, because the lead ticket supervisor at 24 years outdated,” Corridor stated.

The transfer by the Colts looks as if it was fast and straightforward, however the course of actually started years prior, when town of Indianapolis made a large choice.

“A part of the plan for the management in Indianapolis within the 70s and 80s was to revitalize the downtown space, and to try this they needed to make use of sports activities as a mechanism for bringing individuals downtown encouraging tourism,” stated Suzanne Hahn, the VP of Archives and Library on the Indiana Historic Society.

“When the Hoosier Dome opened it was truly a part of the conference heart and that was an awesome form of step for them to take with a view to increase downtown,” Hahn stated.

It additionally gave the newly moved Colts a spot to play their dwelling video games. The one query was would individuals present up?

“Lower than two weeks proper, 13 days, there have been 30,000 purposes, 140,000 seats, after which on the level they shut down the lock field that was receiving licensed checks with these purposes, and supposedly individuals had been ready in line at midnight once they first created copies of the paper. The demand was overwhelming,” Corridor stated.

The primary sport on the Hoosier Dome offered out. It was a second to have fun for the workforce and town.

“You had Mayor Hudnut throwing that inaugural move to kick off the launching of the Hoosier Dome,” Hahn stated.

The Colts would play within the Hoosier Dome beneath that identify for the primary 5 season within the league, however then in 1994 a media firm by the identify of RCA took over the branding, changing into the RCA Dome. 

“Now in fact model sponsorship is part of all sports activities, and I simply know the Hoosier Dome will at all times have a mushy spot in individuals’s hearts as a result of that the identify related to the state and on the identical time there’s a recognition that that’s a part of skilled sports activities now’s sponsorship,” Corridor stated.

For 14 years the RCA Dome hosted what many referred to as the golden years of Colts soccer, Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Edgerin James, and naturally the 2006 Tremendous Bowl championship, however possibly larger than the Tremendous Bowl even was the sport earlier than that occurred within the RCA Dome.

“Jan. 21 of 2007 we beat the Patriots to qualify and go to the Tremendous Bowl. I wish to assume when you lookup the phrase pleasure within the dictionary and took an image, you’d go that’s what it appears to be like like,” stated Corridor.

The Colts would play only one extra season on the RCA Dome earlier than it actually got here crashing down. One thing new was on the horizon because the Colts moved into the home Peyton constructed.

“I used to be involved overseeing ticketing about individuals displaying up for the very first time, and scrambling to determine the place’s the restroom, the place’s the concession. So, I made certain there was a commemorative ticket, again after we printed a whole lot of paper tickets, and we had a day the place you could possibly come to the stadium and simply test it out,” Corridor stated. 

Since 2008 Lucas Oil Stadium has been the Colts dwelling, and it’s the followers dwelling away from dwelling, a spot to look fondly on reminiscences, and proceed to create new ones.

“Going to Colts video games is particular for lots of people, they plan their lives round it. I’d get calls earlier than the schedule come out and say hey my daughter’s getting married this fall, ‘are you aware if we’ve got a house sport this explicit weekend?’ It’s only a privilege and I really feel actually fortunate and blessed to be part of it for all these seasons, you recognize season quantity 39 right here in Indy and there’s a whole lot of nice days forward,” Corridor stated.