Things to Do at Lucas Oil Stadium
Complete Guide to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
About Lucas Oil Stadium
Walk up South Capitol Avenue toward Lucas Oil Stadium and the scale hits you first. The north end's retractable window wall, 88 feet high by 214 feet wide, catches the light. It gives the building an openness you don't expect from an NFL stadium. HKS of Dallas designed it. The stadium opened August 16, 2008. This is home to the Indianapolis Colts.
It doubles as one of downtown Indianapolis's most distinctive landmarks even on non-game days. The roof is gabled, side-opening. Two massive panels meet at a central peak running north to south, parallel to the sidelines. When those panels roll apart, you smell warm Indiana air drifting over the upper decks. The crack of sky overhead turns the bowl into something closer to an open-air amphitheater than a sealed dome.
Inside, the place seats roughly 63,000 for football, expandable past 70,000 for concerts and major events like the NCAA Final Four. The concourses hum with crowd noise bouncing off polished concrete. On game days, sixty-some thousand fans stomp in unison. You feel it through your soles before you hear it. Indianapolis built this stadium as a statement.
The building delivers. Even empty, it has a cathedral-like hush. The field stays impossibly green under overhead lights. The upper tiers fade into shadow. See it whether you care about football or not.
What to See & Do
The Retractable Roof in Action
The stadium's defining feature is its gabled retractable roof. Two panels each weigh roughly 2.5 million pounds. Watching them part is surprisingly graceful for something so massive. The panels slide along the roof's slopes from the central peak outward. The whole operation takes about nine to eleven minutes. On game days, the Colts decide several hours before kickoff whether to open it. Arrive early for your best chance to see the mechanism work. When the roof is open, sunlight pours across the field at a low angle during afternoon games. Long shadows stretch from the upper decks. The air warms noticeably.
The North Window Wall
At the stadium's north end, a massive operable window wall opens to reveal a panoramic view of the Indianapolis skyline. Stand behind the end zone and look out through that 88-by-214-foot opening. The downtown towers frame like a postcard. Glass and steel glint beyond the goalposts. Even when closed, the glazing lets in enough natural light to soften the interior. The concourse feels warmer than the fluorescent wash of most enclosed stadiums.
The Field Level and Locker Rooms
Public tours take you down to the playing surface. The manicured turf has a faintly rubbery, clean smell. It feels springy underfoot. You'll walk through an NFL locker room. It is far more clinical and compact than television makes it look. Think brushed metal and padded benches. Then you head up to the press box. Rows of long desks overlook the field from a dizzying height. The quiet up there strikes you after the echoing openness of the bowl below.
The Club Level and Suites
The stadium holds roughly 7,000 club seats and over 130 luxury suites. These are arranged in tiers wrapping the bowl's midsection. From the club level, the sightlines are steep. You're looking almost straight down at the line of scrimmage. Padded seating and enclosed lounge areas behind the seats carry a faint scent of leather and climate-controlled air. It is a markedly different atmosphere from the upper deck. Up there, the energy tends to be louder and looser.
The Surrounding Plaza and Concourses
The exterior plaza on event days fills with charcoal smoke from tailgate grills and the thump of portable speakers. Inside, the wide concourses are designed for high-volume foot traffic. They still feel spacious between periods. Local food vendors line the corridors. The aroma of pulled pork and roasted garlic from Indianapolis-area vendors mixes with the yeasty smell of draft beer. Art installations and Colts memorabilia dot the walls. They give you something to look at during the inevitable halftime rush.
Practical Information
Opening Hours
Lucas Oil Stadium is not a daily-hours attraction in the traditional sense. It opens for Colts games, concerts, conventions, and other scheduled events. Gates typically open 90 minutes before start time. Public tours generally run on Fridays at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm. Additional days are sometimes added. Tours are not available on event days or holidays. The monthly schedule is posted on Ticketmaster. Check before making the trip.
Tickets & Pricing
Game and event tickets are available through Ticketmaster and the Colts' official channels. For popular matchups and major concerts, buying well in advance is the safer move. The stadium reliably sells out for marquee events. Public tour tickets are also sold through Ticketmaster and tend to be modestly priced. Private group tours for up to 25 people can be arranged with at least two weeks' notice. Discounted rates apply for schools and nonprofits.
Best Time to Visit
For the full experience, a Colts home game in October or November is hard to beat. The weather is cool enough that an open roof feels refreshing rather than sweltering. The crowd energy during conference play is noticeably sharper than early-season games. That said, if you want to see the building without fighting crowds, a Friday tour during an off-week gives you unhurried access. You get the field, locker rooms, and press box. Summer concerts bring a different energy entirely. Looser. More festive. The roof often stays open to the evening sky.
Suggested Duration
A public tour runs roughly 60 minutes. It covers the field, a locker room, and the press box. If you're attending a game, plan for three to four hours. That includes pre-game wandering, the game itself, and the slow exit through the concourses. Arrive early to watch warmups from the lower bowl. That time is well spent.
Getting There
Lucas Oil Stadium sits right in the core of downtown Indianapolis, just off the interchange of I-70 and I-65, with I-74 also feeding into the area. If you're driving, follow the signs from either interstate and you'll see the stadium's distinctive roofline within minutes. Parking is available in several nearby garages and surface lots.
But on game days and major events, pre-purchasing a parking pass saves you from circling blocks and sitting in queue lines. Expect the lots closest to the stadium to fill quickly and cost considerably more than garages a few blocks out. For a cheaper and less stressful option, IndyGo's Red Line bus rapid transit stops within easy walking distance, and the city's regular bus routes serve the area as well.
From Indianapolis International Airport, you're looking at roughly a 20-minute drive in normal traffic. Rideshare drop-offs work smoothly on non-event days, though designated pickup and drop-off zones on game days can mean a longer walk from your car to the gates. The surrounding streets are flat and walkable, so if you're staying anywhere in downtown Indianapolis, it's likely a reasonable walk.
Things to Do Nearby
Less than half a mile from the stadium, this 250-acre urban park stretches along the Indiana Central Canal with paved trails, waterfront views, and a cluster of cultural institutions. It's a natural post-game wind-down, with joggers and cyclists sharing the canal path and the river glinting through the trees. The park connects several of downtown Indianapolis's best attractions on foot.
Sitting inside White River State Park, this museum covers Indiana's history, culture, art, and science across multiple floors. The building itself is architecturally interesting, clad in limestone and steel, and the IMAX theater makes it a solid rainy-day option if the weather turns. It pairs well with a stadium visit because both are walkable and scratch different itches.
Home of the Indianapolis Indians minor league baseball team, Victory Field is located in White River State Park on the west side of downtown. On a warm evening, the intimate scale and the smell of fresh-cut grass make it a welcome contrast to the stadium's enormity. If the Indians are playing on a day you're in town, it's one of the better minor league ballpark experiences in the country.
One of only two museums east of the Mississippi that covers both Native American and Western art, the Eiteljorg sits at the entrance to White River State Park. The collection is surprisingly deep for a mid-sized city museum, with bronzes, paintings, and contemporary Native work that reward a slow visit. It's a five-minute walk from the stadium.
Combining a zoo, aquarium, and botanical garden across 64 acres, this complex includes the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center, which is reason enough to go. The gardens are fragrant and well-kept, heavy with the scent of flowering plants in spring and summer. Families visiting Indianapolis for a game often pair the zoo with their stadium day to fill an entire weekend.
Tips & Advice
Tours & Activities at Lucas Oil Stadium
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