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Super Bowl XLVI – Lucas Oil Stadium

Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis, Indiana – A VenRoo favorite…
Indianapolis has always been one of our favorite venues for catching an NFL game.  Everything about it makes the game day (and weekend) a wonderful experience.  Indianapolis is one of the few stadiums we’ve seen that is located near everything you’d want.  All the hotels, restaurants, bars, parking and tailgating are within walking distance of the stadium.  Add that to the proximity of the stadium to the interstate, and you have yourself an easy drive in along with a hassle free stay.

Lucas Oil Stadium

 

The stadium is easy to find, just north of the I-465 on the south end of the by-pass.  If you’re coming in for the day, you will find all kinds of parking at the stadium or along the streets in various lots.  On game day, there is plenty of tailgating in all the lots and the fans are more than welcoming.  Of all the stadiums we’ve been to, and all of the tailgating we have done, the Indy fans are probably the nicest and most welcoming of all NFL cities.  I cannot count how many times someone in a Peyton Manning jersey has approached someone from our group to find out where we were from and to welcome us to their city.

 

We prefer to stay the weekend for our games and stay at one of the many downtown hotels. Nearly all the hotels and restaurants are within a 3 block by 4 block walking area.  The Hilton and Hyatt are our favorites, but they can be a little pricey on game weekends.  Once you are checked in and the car is parked, you will not have any problem finding a place to eat or drink (there’s even a downtown shopping mall)

 

Some of our favorite places include Ram Restaurant & Brewery, Alcatraz Brewing, and Kilroy’s Bar & Grill.  And of course, you need to stop by the Slippery Noodle on your way back from the game.   If you don’t know what the Slippery Noodle is all about, ask any local and they can fill you in.

 

When it’s game time, it’s a quick walk to Lucas Oil Stadium from wherever you are.  We liked the old RCA dome, especially when it was connected with sky walks to the Hyatt hotel, but we love Lucas Oil.  The brick and rectangle shape make it unlike any other stadium in the league and the retractable roof allows for watching the game in any weather condition.  The seating is fairly typical with the usual “Lower Bowl” and “Upper Bowl” split by a few smaller sections.  We loved the Terrace Level, which is the last section before the Upper Bowl with only 6 rows in the entire section.  It makes for a shorter and easier walk if you need to get up and down from your seats during the game (it also makes the restrooms and concessions a lot closer…).  But overall, there didn’t seem to be a bad seat in the house.

Super Bowl 46

Indianapolis - Lucas Oil Stadium

Of course with the Super Bowl this weekend, the experience will be over the top compared to a normal regular season game day.  And given the hospitality we receive from the Hoosiers, if you’re lucky enough to make it to Indy, it will be an experience of a lifetime.

Lucas Oil Stadium

Preseason at Lucas Oil Stadium

We had a great time at Lucas Oil Stadium, watching the preseason game between the Washington Redskins and Indianapolis Colts. This was our first time to the new stadium (and the Redskins too) and we were not disappointed. Indianapolis is a big city but so easy to get around. The stadium is just off I-465 on the south end, and we had no problem finding parking, which seemed to average $20. When we arrived the roof was open, which was cool to see, even though it was a little hot inside. They must have figured that out too, as they closed the roof (during the game) and it cooled off real nice.

Our tickets were on the Terrace level in the corner under one of two big screens. We would recommend the Terrace level, as it circles the stadium and offers easy access to the rows of seats. We had to go down 3 rows to our seats and only had 3 rows in front of us. The upper section above the Terrace level had around 28 rows, so you’ll do some good stairmaster drills climbing them. We didn’t get any lower than the Terrace level, but there did not seem to be a bad seat in the place. The two big screen monitors were easy to see and offered video and replays of the games. We were a little disappointed in the scoreboard. The ones at the end zones, showed the scores and time remaining, but if you wanted to see downs, yards, etc it was under the big monitors, but they would change quite often

Lucas Oil Stadium - Terrace Level Seats

Concessions were dispersed evenly around the stadium with draft beer running around $7.50. They primarily offered Budweiser products with various other specialty stands. We also had a good time chatting with the Colts fans. Indianapolis has always been a great city to see a game and the fans are friendly and hospitable.

If you stay in the downtown area, the walk from the stadium is real close and there’s tons of restaurants, bars, shopping, and hotels. We highly recommend Lucas Oil Stadium and look forward to going back for a regular season game. Don’t forget the Superbowl in 2012.

As the 2011 season kicks-off, be sure to checkout our Pro Football Stadium poster on www.venroo.com to help you track your stadium visits and to display all the stadiums on a map of the U.S.