Archive for the ‘Indianapolis’ Category

Indiana Convention Center & Lucas Oil Stadium

02.17.2010 | Comments Off
Posted in: Convention Planning | Conventions | Corporate Retreat | Event Planning | Exhibits | Features | Indiana | Indianapolis | Meeting Venues | Meetings

Indianapolis is a beautiful city, and is often overlooked by businesses seeking a haven for trade shows, conventions, conferences,proms, graduations, and you name it! However, Indianapolis is full of surprises, and one of them might be its convention center!  People are familiar with the Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium, but many do not realize that the stadium is directly attached to one of the finest convention centers int he world! If you have a large group, a larger group, a VERY large group, or even a group that just needs a room for a meeting, the Indianapolis Convention Center & Lucas Oil Stadium is happy to accommodate you.

Most people associate Lucas Oil Stadium with the Colts, and rightly so!  However, the stadium is also a haven and home for trade shows and conferences:

Known best as the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium also is a major site for conventions, exhibitions, trade shows and NCAA basketball competition. The unique retractable roof makes it exceptionally flexible for both indoor and outdoor events. The roof can be opened or closed in approximately nine minutes.

Lucas Oil Stadium is a seven-level facility that seats 63,000 for football up to 70,000 for basketball, conventions and concerts. It covers 1.8 million square feet, features 137 corporate suites, two club lounges, meeting rooms, and two exhibit halls.

In short, if you’re coming to town for a special occasion at Lucas Oil Stadium, get ready for a breath-taking experience in a state-of-the-art facility that is already drawing rave reviews from critics all across the country.

It will be connected to the Indiana Convention Center via a climate-controlled walkway.

As for the convention center itself, well, let’s just say that if you thought it was fantastic now, just wait untl December, when the NEW convention center is scheduled to be finished and open for business!

I understand something called the “NCAA” will have its headquarters here.  Perhaps some of you may have heard of that. . . .  Also, the Indiana Convention Center is the first of only two convention centers in the country that directly connect to a domed stadium!

The Indiana Convention Center is undergoing a dramatic expansion that will grow the convention center from 403,000 to 745,000 square feet of exhibit space when completed in 2010, including 179,000 square feet of exhibit space in the new Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Indianapolis Convention Center is one of the top convention and trade show facilities in the United States.  It can host large and popular events as well as small meetings with equal success and service.
Many large convention centers are built away from the hustle and bustle of the business/downtown/shopping areas of a city, but the Indianapolis Convention Center is right in the heart of downtown Indianapolis, directly connected to the Lucas Oil Stadium, and also within walking distance of restaurants, shopping, hotels, and parking.  The Circle Center Mall is almost across the street, and historic Indianapolis capitol and government buildings are nearby.
The bus and train stations are also just a block or two away.
In December of this year, look what you’ll find at the Indiana Convention Center & Lucas Oil Stadium:

The Indiana Convention Center is currently undergoing its fourth expansion since opening in 1972.   After the demolition of the RCA Dome, the $275 million project was begun and will be housed on the area that the RCA Dome occupied.  The expansion is anticipated to be completed by late December 2010.

The project will add 254,000 square feet of exhibit space, 63,000 square feet of meeting rooms and 100,000 square feet of pre-function space.  An indoor, street level, climate controlled connector will link the convention center to Lucas Oil Stadium.

Once completed, the Indiana Convention Center will offer:

Exhibit Halls – 566,600 SF of contiguous space, 11 Exhibit Halls ranging from 36,300 SF to 88,900 SF

Meeting Rooms – 71 totaling 113,302 SF

Ballrooms – 3 various sized totaling 62,173 SF; largest is 33,335 SF

Docks – 48

Hotel Rooms – physically connected via skywalks to 12 hotels – 4,700 hotel rooms

Airport – 15-minutes drive to Indianapolis International Airport

Lucas Oil Stadium opened in August 2008 and features 182,500 SF of contiguous exhibit space including the stadium floor and exhibit halls.  It also has a variety of meeting options including  twelve meeting rooms, Lucas Oil Plaza, Quarterback Club and Bud Light Zone.

The Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium are managed by the Capital Improvement  Board.  The Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority is managing the project, Ratio Architects are the lead architects and Shiel Sexton/Powers and Sons are the construction managers.

Why not bring your trade show, conference, convention, meeting, ceremony, or seminar to Indianapolis, and experience the city and its awesome convention center? Indy is less than a one-day drive from most other large cities, and its airport is brand-new and easy to navigate.

Whatever your group’s needs might be, the Indiana Convention Center & Lucas Oil Stadium can accommodate you in any way, plus a lot of extras!




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