RCA Dome RCA Dome ( originally Hoosier Dome ) was a dome d stadium , located in Indianapolis , Indiana , and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ( 1984 – 2007 ) . It was completed at a cost of $ 77 . 5 million , as part of the Indiana Convention Center , with the costs split between private and public money . It was demolished in December 2008 , as part of a project to expand the attached convention center . Description . The roof was made up of teflon - coated fiberglass and weighed 257 tons , which was held up by the air pressure inside the building . The ceiling was high , though the height varied up to five feet as the materials expanded and contracted with the weather . As was the case with other domes of this style ( the Metrodome , BC Place , the Carrier Dome , and the Pontiac Silverdome ) there were warning signs posted cautioning patrons of the high winds at the doors when exiting . History . It was similar in design and appearance to the Metrodome and the previous BC Place roof , owing in great part to the involvement of engineers David Geiger and Walter Bird , pioneers in air - supported roofs . The stadium was originally named the Hoosier Dome until 1994 when RCA paid $ 10 million for the naming rights for 10 years , with two five - year options to RCA at a cost of $ 3 . 5 million if invoked . The stadium seated 56 , 127 for football ; the smallest in the NFL . Modifications were made to the stadium in 1999 to expand the suites and add club seating . Before that , the maximum seating for a football crowd was 60 , 272 . The dome was officially dedicated on August 11 , 1984 , as a sellout crowd watched the Indianapolis Colts defeat the NY Giants in an NFL preseason game . The stadium also holds High School football games . Basketball was also played at the RCA Dome . The first game played there was an exhibition game in 1984 between an NBA All - Star team led by home - state hero Larry Bird and the United States Olympic Men ' s Basketball team , coached by Bob Knight , who was at the time the coach of Indiana University . The dome also served as the site of the NBA All - Star Game in February 1985 , where a record NBA crowd of 43 , 146 saw the Western Conference beat the Eastern Conference 140 – 129 . Since then it hosted many NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Championship games , including four Final Fours ( 1991 , 1997 , 2000 , 2006 ) . The NCAA , whose headquarters are in Indianapolis , has committed to holding the Final Four in Indianapolis once every five years . The RCA Dome hosted its only Women ' s Final Four in 2005 . The closing ceremony and the gymnastics and handball events of the 1987 Pan American Games were held in the Hoosier Dome . In addition , it hosted the 1990 General Conference Session of Seventh - day Adventists , the World Gymnastics Championships in 1991 , WrestleMania VIII in 1992 , the Indiana High School Athletic Association ' s annual boys and girls championships ( with the boys ' final game witnessed by the largest crowd [ over 40 , 000 ] ever for a high school basketball game ) , and served as one of two sites for the FIBA Men ' s World Basketball Championship Tournament in 2002 , sharing the honors with Conseco Fieldhouse , the home of the Indiana Pacers . Additionally , the RCA Dome served as the site of the Indiana State School Music Association State Marching Band Competition , the Bands of America Grand Nationals , and the Drum Corps International Midwest ern Regional , along with the NFL Scouting Combine in February of each year . It also hosted a PBR Built Ford Tough Series bull riding event in 2004 . The football playing surface was originally AstroTurf ; it was replaced with FieldTurf in 2005 . The stadium was replaced by a new retractable - roof stadium , Lucas Oil Stadium , in time for the 2008 NFL season . The RCA Dome was replaced by additional space for the adjacent Indiana Convention Center . The new convention space will eventually connect to Lucas Oil Stadium in much the same way that the existing Indiana Convention Center had been connected to the RCA Dome ( although the new connecting walkway will pass under a railroad track ) . The stadium has played host to music concerts and festivals as well , including The Monsters of Rock Festival and Farm Aid 5 . During a Monster Truck Thunder Drags race in 1997 , Eric Meager was piloting Bigfoot , which was sporting the new 97 Ford F - 150 . The truck lost control and struck the wall , damaging it , and also causing the dome to slowly deflate . The RCA Dome was also a close to home experience whenever Monster Jam came around to now 9 Time World Champion Tom Meents , driver of Maximum Destruction . Demolition . On September 24 , 2008 , the roof of the Dome was deflated . It took about 45 minutes to deflate the dome portion of the roof . The demolition of the RCA Dome was featured on the second series premier of the National Geographic show Blowdown . During the process , the roof material was collected by People for Urban Progress , a local Indianapolis non - profit organization , and put to fresh use . Using the remaining material , and with the help of several local artists , People for Urban Progress designed and created messenger bags , wallets , clutches and bike messenger bags , all of which are uniquely hand - crafted using the white , red , and black fabric that came from the dome .