Lead Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Apparently we were "misled" into thinking the dome would be open in Indy... then it came out it was in the contract for the roof to be closed. I asked numerous times as to WHY this is? Why have they built a retractable roof stadium where they seem to want to keep the roof closed more than they keep it open? Will it be closed for Colts games, too? What's the deal? Every other retractable roof stadium I know of keeps the dome OPEN most of the time and then CLOSES when inclement weather is coming. It seems like Lucas Oil is the other way around. Why is that? It has been open for just a couple of Colts games, and then, even in September/October, fans complained BIG TIME about the heat and humidity in the building. I have not been to the stadium when the roof is open, but I have seen/heard the complaints from both family members who have been at them and the local news. I have only ever been at games and other events with the roof closed. The roof only takes less than 15 minutes to fully open and the window as well. I know for a FACT that there was a contingency plan with DCI by which the roof could be opened, but it basically would have taken an act of God - i.e., a huge number of corps directors asking for it to be opened - in order for it to happen. The reason is simply because of the black curtain in the back of the field. The curtain hanging/removing process is an 8-hour work order, and could only be completed by Lucas Oil Stadium staff (NOT DCI staff, as the curtain does not belong to DCI). The curtain can not be up when the roof is open. For DCI, I'd imagine that on Tuesday/Wednesday last week (when the Indiana forecast had rain forecast for Friday and Saturday both), they had to make a pre-emptive decision on the roof and decided to go with CLOSED and the curtain, it made the likelihood that the roof would remain closed the entire weekend extremely high - which is what we got. And good thing too - it did rain Friday night. Why the stadium does not currently have an adequate drainage system is not DCI's fault nor is it their business. Why they can't remove the curtain faster is also not DCI's fault nor is it their business. I'd say that with rain in the forecast and with the actual rain that did happen, and given all of the circumstances, DCI did an awesome job of predicting and made the correct decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crfrey71 Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 The roof was closed and the curtain put up to emulate WGI. I am not exaggerating either. I heard the Tom Blair interview with Dan Potter and he said they have had that idea and messed around with it a few times. He wanted to make it look like the corps were performing on a stage and get rid of the empty stadium look in the background. He said the contrast would really pop, such as rifle tosses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lead Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 The roof was closed and the curtain put up to emulate WGI. I am not exaggerating either. I heard the Tom Blair interview with Dan Potter and he said they have had that idea and messed around with it a few times. He wanted to make it look like the corps were performing on a stage and get rid of the empty stadium look in the background. He said the contrast would really pop, such as rifle tosses. Not so fast - the curtain is up for all music events. DCI did not purchase a curtain to emulate WGI - Lucas Oil owns the curtain, and has the big one up, along with the one in the endzone (North Plaza) for concerts, etc for acoustics. It may have been that Blair thought the curtain would emulate WGI, but that's not WHY it was up in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 There are several retractable roof stadiums that have adequate drainage. Why couldn't the designer of this stadium figure it out? If they wanted to save money by not installing a decent drainage system, then they should have saved even more and just built a closed stadium. Sounds pretty half-###ed to me. I've been to Diamondbacks baseball at Chase Field in PHX with the roof open. If they can handle it there, what is Indiana complaining about? Garry in Vegas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 This should keep us talking till next season !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAZZER Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Didn't Rondo or someone mention on last Thursday's live-cast that the roof would not be opened because of air conditioning/comfort for the performers?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newseditor44 Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 More to the point: Why would anyone on DCP know this answer? Few (if any) of us have reviewed the actual contract signed by DCI. I'll bet it has all sorts of surprises.Again, DCI is not a monolith. This wasn't a decision made solely by Dan Acheson or anyone at DCI. It was voted on by "The Board" which, with a few exceptions, are the directors of the member corps. Ask your favorite corps' director. All well and good. But just because it's a decision made by the board, doesn't mean it's not a BAD decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newseditor44 Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Not so fast - the curtain is up for all music events. DCI did not purchase a curtain to emulate WGI - Lucas Oil owns the curtain, and has the big one up, along with the one in the endzone (North Plaza) for concerts, etc for acoustics. It may have been that Blair thought the curtain would emulate WGI, but that's not WHY it was up in the first place. Tom had nothing to do with the curtain.. If they are going to keep the rof closed, maybe its time to bring a sound tech in and examine where the curtain is placed, and what else might need to be done/added to help the sound more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardman Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Well, if DCI is not going to open the roof at finals, I will never go (at least not for the next 9 years...). Shouldn't be too hard for me, looking at this year's shows... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCImonkey Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 DCI Fans = Biggest whiners ever. I'm almost embarrassed to like this activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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