The Indianapolis Colts‘ $700 million Lucas Oil Stadium may be complete, but the public’s costs aren’t: It was revealed this week that the city’s costs of operating the 1.8 million square foot behemoth will be $20 million this year, double the original projections. “We’re making guesses until we have actual numbers,” Grand said. “We’re bleeding cash right now, absolutely,” city Capital Improvement Board chair Bob Grand told the Indianapolis Star; solutions, he said, could include staff cuts or the sale of naming rights to the attached convention center.
It was a bad week for the new stadium, having started with news that with the roof closed, the acoustics were so lousy that people couldn’t hear anything at a Kenny Chesney concert. And apparently people felt that this was a bad thing.
A small correction: Operation costs will be $20 million MORE than the RCA Dome, which is being razed with nothing having been paid on the principal of its debt despite a one percent food and beverage tax levied for 25 years for that purpose.