About 9 minutes
Lucas Oil Stadium’s roof takes roughly nine minutes to fully open or close. That’s fast enough to keep fans from missing much of the action while the crew gets the place ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at it.
It sits in downtown Indianapolis
You’ll find the stadium on the west bank of the White River, right in the heart of downtown. Since it replaced the RCA Dome in 2008, it’s become Indy’s most recognizable building—not just for Colts games, but for big NCAA tournaments, concerts, and conventions that pull crowds from hundreds of miles around.
Roof operation time: ≈ 9 minutes
| Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Roof operation time | ≈ 9 minutes | Full cycle from closed to open or back |
| Roof span | 750 ft longest truss | Taller than a 50-story skyscraper |
| Total footprint | 1.8 million sq ft | ≈ 2.5× the RCA Dome’s area |
| Exterior brick line | 185 miles | If bricks laid end-to-end, Indianapolis to Chicago |
| Capacity (football) | 63,000 | Up to 70,000+ with standing-room additions |
| Construction cost | $720 million | Completed August 2008 |
| Naming-rights deal | $122 million over 20 years | Signed in 2006 with Lucas Oil Products |
The roof rolls on steel tracks
Two massive panels, each weighing about 1.2 million pounds, slide along steel tracks when the roof moves. The process is surprisingly smooth—so smooth, in fact, that the stadium pipes in the Colts’ fight song while the roof closes, giving fans a little heads-up that game time is near. The exterior bricks? They’re recycled from the old RCA Dome, laid back into place by local masons to keep a piece of Indianapolis’ sports history alive. Oh, and in 2024 they slapped 4,000 solar panels on the south side, cutting the stadium’s power bill by around $400,000 a year.
Gates open at 11 AM for a 1 PM kickoff
- Arrival time: Show up by 11 AM if the game starts at 1 PM.
- Cashless everything: No cash accepted—credit, debit, or the Colts mobile app only.
- Parking prices: Event lots range from $10 to $35; suite holders get first dibs.
- Rental costs: Public event space starts at $8,704 for 50 guests; suites go for $50,000–$125,000 per game.
- Weather protocol: The roof stays open unless lightning’s detected within 10 miles—then it shuts automatically thanks to NOAA sensors.
- Accessibility: 245 wheelchair spots available, plus companion restrooms and elevators at every entrance.
