subject: Indianapolis Colts Tickets : The Colts Moved To Their New Home Lucas Oil Stadium [print this page] The Indianapolis Colts are a professional Football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).
The club was officially founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1953, but can trace its history to the Dayton Triangles, a founding member of the NFL that was originally created in 1913. After a series of changes, it assumed the "Baltimore Colts" name, replacing a previous team that folded in 1950. Playing at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, the Colts became the first NFL team to have cheerleaders. The team then relocated to Indianapolis in 1984, first playing at the Hoosier Dome, which was then renamed the RCA Dome before moving to Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008.
The Colts won four NFL championships (three NFL Championships in 1958, 1959, 1968; and Super Bowl V in 1971) while in Baltimore. Since moving to Indianapolis, they won Super Bowl XLI in 2007. Also since 1998, the team has become the first in league history to win 12 games or more in five consecutive seasons extending this record to seven after the 2009 season. The team headquarters and practice facilities are also located in Indianapolis. The club currently holds their annual training camp from late July to mid-August on the campus of Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana.
In December 28, 1946, the bankrupt Miami Seahawks of the All-America Football Conference were purchased and relocated in Baltimore by a group headed by Bob Rodenberg. As the result of a contest in Baltimore, won by Charles Evans of Middle River, Md., the team was renamed the Colts. On September 7, 1947, wearing the green and silver uniforms, the Colts, under Head Coach Cecil Isbell, won their initial AAFC game, 16/7, over the Brooklyn Dodgers. The team concluded its inaugural season before a record Baltimore crowd of 51,583 by losing to the New York Yankees, 21/7. The Colts finished with a 2/11/1 record, good for a fourth place finish in the Eastern Division. The Colts completed the 1948 season with a 7/8 record, tying the Buffalo Bills for the division title. The Colts compiled a 1/11 mark in 1949. Y. A. Tittle was the Colts starting quarterback.
The AAFC and NFL merged in 1950, and the Colts joined the NFL. After posting a 1/11 record for the second consecutive year, the franchise was dissolved by the league on January 18, 1951, because of its failing financial condition. But many Baltimore fans protested the loss of their team and continued to support the marching band (the second in professional football, after that of their local rivals, the Washington Redskins) and fan club, both of which remained in operation and worked for the team's revival.
After two seasons without professional football, NFL Commissioner Bert Bell challenged Baltimore in December 1952 to sell 15,000 season tickets within six weeks in order to re-enter the NFL. That 15,000-ticket quota was reached in four weeks and three days. On January 23, 1953, under the principal ownership of Carroll Rosenbloom, the NFL Dallas Texans franchise was moved to Baltimore where, assuming the Colts nickname, the Texans' team colors of blue and white were retained. This is the franchise that exists today in Indianapolis.
The Texans had a long and winding history; they started as the Boston Yanks in 1944 and merged with the Brooklyn Tigers (previously known as the Dayton Triangles, an original NFL team established in the 1910s) for the 1945 season before moving to New York as the Bulldogs in 1949. The team then became the Yanks in 1950, and many of the players from the New York Yankees of the All-America Football Conference were added to the team. The Yanks moved to Dallas after the 1951 season, but played their final two home games of the 1952 season at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio.
Note: This team should not be confused with the Dallas Texans of the AFL; they were a founding member of the AFL in 1960 and in 1963 moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs.
After 24 years of playing at the RCA Dome, the Colts moved to their new home Lucas Oil Stadium in the fall of 2008. In December 2004, the City of Indianapolis and Jim Irsay agreed to a new stadium deal that would benefit both the city and the team at an estimated cost of $1 billion (Including Indianapolis Convention Center upgrades). In a deal estimated at $122 million, Lucas Oil Products won the naming rights to the stadium for 20 years.
It is a seven-level stadium which seats 63,000 for football. It can be reconfigured to seat 70,000 or more for NCAA basketball and football and concerts. It covers 1,800,000 square feet (167,000 m2). The stadium features a retractable roof allowing the Colts to play home games outdoors for the first time since arriving in Indianapolis. Using FieldTurf, the playing surface is roughly 25 ft (7.6 m) below ground level. In addition to being larger than the RCA Dome, the new stadium features: 58 permanent concession stands, 90 portable concession stands, 13 escalators, 11 passenger elevators, 800 restrooms, high definition video displays from Daktronics and replay monitors and 142 luxury suites.
Other than being the home of the Colts, the stadium will host games in both the Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments and will serve as the back up host for all NCAA Final Four Tournaments. The stadium will host the Super Bowl for the 2012 season (Super Bowl XLVI) and has a potential economic impact estimated at $286,000,000. Lucas Oil Stadium will also host the Drum Corps International World Championships from 2009 until 2018.
