INDIANAPOLIS - Today's ceremonial groundbreaking for the Lucas Oil Stadium put into motion an ambitious three-year construction plan that will result in a new venue for Indianapolis Colts football, NCAA basketball championships and scores of major conventions and other events starting in the fall of 2008. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels joined Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson in officially starting the stadium project that will lead the way to a major expansion of the adjacent Indiana Convention Center on the current footprint of the RCA Dome. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, along with NCAA President Myles Brand and Indiana Black Expo CEO/President Joyce Rogers joined the Governor and the Mayor.

It is projected that the new stadium and convention center expansion will pump $2.25 billion into the economy, create more than 4,900 construction jobs and 4,200 permanent jobs over the next 10 years. Additionally, this project continues Indianapolis' Downtown revitalization momentum where there is nearly $3 billion in new development project currently underway.

"Today marks the beginning of a historic economic development project that will forever change the skyline of Indianapolis and dramatically bolster our economy," Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson said. "The new stadium and convention center will be a catalyst for all kinds of business and industry in Indianapolis, and we stand ready to help the State Building Authority in any way to help move this project toward completion."

The Lucas Oil Stadium & Convention Center Building Authority (ISCBA) will oversee the construction of the new facility positioned immediately south of the current RCA Dome. Once complete, the Lucas Oil Stadium and expansion of the Indiana Convention Center will be managed by the Capital Improvement Board of Managers, an independent municipal corporation in Indianapolis.

Funding for the estimated $900 million project will come mostly from a recent increase in the innkeeper's tax, the food and beverage tax and the car rental tax in Marion County, along with the addition of a 1% food and beverage tax in Hamilton, Boone, Hendricks, Johnson, Shelby and Hancock counties adjacent to Marion County. Additionally, the Indianapolis Colts will contribute $100 million toward the building project. Legislation was passed by the 2005 Indiana General Assembly enabling the increase in these user taxes.

The construction management team will be led by Hunt Construction Group, Inc. in association with Smoot Construction, LLC and Mezetta Construction, Inc. Project architects are HKS, Inc. with local architectural consulting by Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf.

Leading the ISCBA as its Chairman is longtime civic leader David Frick, appointed by Governor Daniels earlier this year to lead the Authority. Frick provided senior leadership in the building of the RCA Dome, then named the Hoosier Dome, which opened in 1984. "I continue to be impressed by the remarkable cooperation between state and city leadership," Frick said. "This project is no exception, which promises thousands of construction jobs and such significant economic impact."

Scheduled for completion in 2008, the new stadium will seat a crowd of 63,000, expandable to 70,000; of those, 7,100 are club seats; the facility will offer 140 suites.

Plans call for the demolition of the RCA Dome in 2008 to make way for the expansion of the Indiana Convention Center to be completed by 2010. Once complete, exhibit space in the combined facility will total approximately 730,000 square feet (as compared to 403,000 currently), plus additional meeting, ballroom and pre-function space.

The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association (ICVA) announced last year that a feasibility study requested by the city-owned Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome concluded that sufficient demand exists to warrant a significant expansion.

"There is requisite market demand for an Indiana Convention Center expansion of the size and type being contemplated," said Robert V. Canton, a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, which conducted the study. It was estimated that an expanded Indiana Convention Center could realize an additional 18-23 major conventions and trade shows and four to five consumer shows per year, which would generate $165 million in economic impact while creating at least 2,700 new jobs.

The study also noted that the Indiana Convention Center performed exceptionally well, with high occupancy during a period of industry decline. It is that kind of momentum that local hospitality officials plan to sustain.

"These findings are consistent with our own examination of the future needs of our enormously important conventions and meetings industry," said Bob Bedell, ICVA President and CEO. "The demand continues to grow for Indianapolis and today's stadium groundbreaking and the expansion of the convention center that will follow represent the next phase of Indianapolis' deliberate development of its convention district and downtown, which has already proven successful."