Thursday afternoon, the Lucas Oil Stadium retractable roof in Indianapolis was closed for the first time, according to Bart Riberich, president of Uni-Systems, the firm installing the roof drive systems. The retractable roof was constructed in the open position, and earlier this week the west roof panel was driven 150 feet up the 13-degree slope for the first time. Thursday afternoon, the Uni-Systems team moved the east panel into place, and the entire roof was in the closed position. The firm is also putting the finishing touches on the 88-foot-tall glass-clad operable end-zone walls, which will be the tallest of their kind in the world. When completed later this year, the stadium will house the 2006 Super Bowl champions, the Indianapolis Colts.

Uni-Systems had previously engineered and installed the first NFL stadium retractable roof drive systems in the United States at Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans, as well as at University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals and the 2008 Super Bowl. Uni-Systems is also currently working on the retractable roof and operable end-zone walls for the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. But, said Riberich, the roof at Lucas Oil Stadium will be the first to use more than two parallel rails to operate the roof. Riberich said the unique design will allow a larger opening in the roof.

Five parallel rails support twenty wheels on each of two 600-foot-wide retractable roof panels at the Indianapolis Colts facility. Each rail is supported by a steel truss that spans the width of the stadium. The panels, which are operated using a computerized control system designed by Uni-Systems, are nearly silent from the stands as they move along the rails.

Lucas Oil Stadium is owned by the Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority. Hunt Construction is the construction manager for the project. HKS Architects of Dallas, Texas designed the stadium and Walter P. Moore of Houston, Texas is the Engineer of Record for the roof structure.

To see renderings of Lucas Oil Stadium, such as the one presented here. See our renderings section for images of the new Cowboys Stadium, and TCF Bank Stadium.

Source: Uni-Systems

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