After 24 years. I saw the first event the summer of 1984, an exhibition basketball game between IU and the Bob Knight-coached U.S. Olympic team. The court was in the middle of the stadium, and the players looked like Lilliputians. After that game, they went to an end zone setup for basketball, which included four mens and womens NCAA finals. I also was there for the second event a couple of months later, a football game between Notre Dame and Purdue, which Purdue won. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oy_cL1YwDME&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oy_cL1YwDME&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> edit: For some reason Sids video player didn't embed correctly. So I grabbed one from youtube. Terry
Sid I'm curious about the financing of the Hoosier Dome. I see that it was "only" 24yrs old. Aren't most of these projects financed on longer term bonds? It would be odd if a structure who hadn't retired it's debt was torn down. Of course in Houston we have a quasi-govermental agency that is responsible for the financing of stadiums and issues bonds and stuff so as long as the agency is making payments on the bonds the bond holders are golden. Does Indy have such an entity? Terry
I'm not up to date on the status of the Dome bonds, but I know that the authority that has issued all the bonds for the convention center has sufficient funds from the taxes that support it to pay all its obligations. I seem to recall reading something about some of the oldest Dome bonds remaining unpaid. If that's the case my educated guess is that the balance will be rolled into the bonds for the expansion of the convention center which will be built on the space formerly occupied by the Dome. The new bonds would be on a parity with the old bonds, so everyone (old and new bondholders) would have the same collateral and sources of payment.