Convention Center expansion has unanswered questions
The face of Indianapolis will change dramatically in the next three years.
That's when Lucas Oil Stadium will open and the 25-year-old RCA dome will disappear. That makes room for the multi-million dollar expansion of the Indiana convention center.
Before the new convention center expansion can go up, the RCA Dome will have to come down. The question is: Will it be through implosion like Market Square arena or with a wrecking ball?
Lead Architect Bill Browne says they're looking at both options and maybe a combination.
"There's the opportunity to deflate it, if you will, take the cabling and teflon off, and then you're left with an outdoor stadium and can evaluate the best way to remove the concrete," Browne explained.
He says in the end it will come down to what's safest, cheapest and fastest.
"I think it's a four-to-five month window is what we're talking about, as far as all the removals," Browne said.
The demolition and clean-up will not be an easy job considering the Dome and Convention Center are connected, and that business here will continue through demolition and construction.
Browne says the Dome will come down as soon as possible. The earliest target would be mid-April after the Firefighter Instructors Conference, but the Colts will have final say. They don't want the Dome torn down until they're certain their new stadium is ready for play.
Also up in the air is the connector planned to be built between the Convention Center expansion and the new stadium.
The enclosed walkway between the stadium and Convention Center is planned to run parallel to the sidewalk along Capitol Avenue.
The problem associated with that location is that it must run beneath an active rail line owned by CSX and over a parking lot the state has yet to acquire.
The construction will be a complicated piece of business, and possibly a costly one as well - one not yet included in the Stadium Authority's budget.
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