Rich Van Wyk/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - While city leaders are trying to win a Super Bowl in Atlanta, stadium officials here have a construction battle in one hand and a victory in another.
The Indianapolis contractor installing the heating, air conditioning and plumbing at Lucas Oil Stadium suddenly shut down Friday, pulling scores of workers and equipment from the site.
The Stadium Building Authority scrambled all weekend to recover.
"All the plumbers that were working last week are working there this week and working today. We will make sure they get a paycheck until the plumbing is done," said John Klipsch, executive director, Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority.
A bank seized the 92-year-old Frank E. Irish company. Despite a $34 million stadium contract its president tells our Indianapolis Star news-gathering partners the firm is $5 million in debt.
A bonding company is paying the additional costs. Most of the plumbing is finished. The Building Authority insists the opening date won't change.
"This is a small hiccup in the scheme of things," said Klipsch.
The building authority is showing off a block long over-and-underground tunnel connecting the expanded convention center to Lucas Oil stadium.
Visitors from a large part of downtown will be able walk to the stadium without getting too hot, too cold or too wet.
Combined with existing enclosed walkways, guests of more than 5,000 thousand hotel rooms won't have to venture outside.
"For convention and trade shows this is an amenity critically important to making two buildings work together," said David Frick, ISCBA chairman.
The climate-controlled connector should be complete by the winter of 2010.
Lucas Oil Stadium
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WTHR. For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
