(AP Photo)
2024 VenuesNow All-Star Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Indiana
Over the past 12 months, Lucas Oil Stadium has shown that it can adapt and innovate while retaining and expanding its core football and concert business. That was on display with the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials, which attracted record crowds and acted as a test case for stadium-sized swimming during a 10-day stretch in June.
“One of the things we pride ourselves on is that we can be anything for anybody,” Lucas Oil Stadium director Eric Neuburger said at the time.
The multimillion-dollar project encompassed 2 million gallons of water, 6,000 feet of piping and an elevated pool deck spanning more than one acre to contain the 50-meter competition pool. An adjoining warmup pool, the biggest of its kind in the world, is separated by a black curtain on the event floor.
The magnitude of the event, the entirety of which was broadcast prime time on NBC, was a boon for the stadium as well as USA Swimming, the governing body for the amateur sport. Added buzz came just days before the end of the trials, when organizers for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles announced that the swimming competition would be switched to SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers.
The high-profile achievement of hosting the swim trials adds to an already-busy event calendar, which this year included concerts by Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, George Strait, and Pink. That’s a dramatic increase over the stadium’s usual number of concerts, as the venue hosted a total of 10 concerts in its first 15 years of operation.
The May 4 George Strait / Chris Stapleton concert reported 51,132 tickets sold and just under $14 million grossed.
Neuburger said concerts were not a priority at the stadium previously due to the toll it takes on facility staff and the building itself, as well as Indianapolis not always being part of a tour routing in the first place. The number of stadium tours launching in recent years has made for a competitive environment among NFL venues looking to secure concerts.
“This is a good year for concerts,” Neuburger said. “We’re already working on 2025 and will see how the (recent softness in the market) affects us. It takes a special show to do well in Indianapolis, considering they’re not skipping Chicago and other big markets in the region. They’ve got to be a big enough artist to play all those markets. Plus, sometimes, there’s luck in the scheduling. We keep our eyes out for big opportunities, and so far, it’s paid off.”
