The RCA Dome will be demolished at a cost of $3.5 million, making way for an expanded Indiana Convention Center.

A New York company Monday was awarded the contract for the six-month demolition that will start this spring.

Sabre Demolition Corp. of Baldwinsville, N.Y., was the low bidder for the work, which will clear the way for the $275 million Convention Center expansion project.

The demolition job drew 13 bids, ranging from Sabre’s $3.5 million to $8.6 million. The Dome was built in 1984 for $80 million.

Sabre, a nine-year-old company, will use traditional demolition methods, such as a wrecking ball, to bring most of the Dome down, said Fred Klipsch, the authority’s executive director. But Sabre might use explosives to remove parts of the concrete ring of the 57,890-seat Dome, he said.

Hauling away the debris from the fabric-roofed stadium will take the most time in the demolition process, he said.

A number of items, including seats and lighting, will be removed so that much of it can be sold as souvenirs, Klipsch said. He said the Colts and the Indiana Sports Corp. will handle the memorabilia sales, perhaps in an online auction. Details will be announced soon.

Lucas Oil Stadium will replace the Dome. The new stadium is set to be finished Aug. 15, about a week before the Indianapolis Colts are scheduled to play a preseason game there.

The authority was told that the stadium’s price tag is estimated at $704 million to $720 million.

The Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority also got a look at the decor for the interior, which will feature 15,000 square yards of carpeting in deep fall shades, with designs depicting Indiana cornfields as they appear from the sky.

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