Published: October 05, 2008 12:16 am            

Indiana benefited

While the image of the RCA Dome conjures specific memories of Colts games, NCAA Final Fours, basketball and football state finals, band performances and concerts, its value to central Indiana over the past 25 years is incalculable.

The Dome’s roof was collapsed, a step toward its ultimate destruction to make room for expansion of the Indiana Convention Center.

Together with the convention center, also built in 1983, the Dome brought Indianapolis a host of events and a ton of publicity. Counties such as Howard and Madison directly and indirectly benefited from both.

Perhaps the best way to grasp the Dome’s benefits would be to examine what never would have happened if it had not been built: The Colts would not have come, and it’s possible that the convention center never would have been erected. Today, of course, there would likely be no Lucas Oil Stadium, and the Super Bowl in 2012 would be played nowhere near Indianapolis.

And, of course, folks in Indiana wouldn’t have had a Super Bowl champion to celebrate in February of 2007.

If Indy had never built a convention center-dome complex, the region never would have attracted events like the Star Wars Celebrations, Gen Con, the National FFA convention and the hundreds of other attractions that have brought people by the tens of thousands to Indiana.

Critics of the RCA Dome abound. And, yes, they are right: It is not a picturesque structure. More distressingly, news reports show that taxpayers still owe $69 million for construction of the dome and the convention center, which initially cost about $80 million. Considering that almost half the initial cost was defrayed by private contributions, the remaining debt is a stunning figure — $22 million higher than the original cost to taxpayers.

Refinancing of the Dome debt explains the remaining cost. The refinancing was used to secure funds for Dome improvements and building of other projects, such as Victory Field, where the Indianapolis Indians play. The remaining debt has now been rolled into the $500 million price tag of Lucas Oil Stadium.

Taxpayers indeed have paid and will continue to pay a heavy price for the Dome. That’s the dark side of the building’s legacy. The other part of the legacy — its role in bringing excitement, exposure, business and development to central Indiana — has helped make Indianapolis a major player in the national limelight.

– The Herald Bulletin, Anderson

        

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