Mike Simoncelli is a college student majoring in sports management at Medaille College and has been working for the Buffalo Sabres as a part of the media crew in the pressbox. We ran into Mike during the summer and he told us he was traveling to Indy with the Bills equipment staff for their preseason game, so we asked him if he would take a few shots and give us a report. Here is Mike’s submission for our readers, along with our appreciation…

Lucas Oil Stadium Fulfills The Hype

As the Buffalo Bills team flight descended towards the Indianapolis airport the afternoon before their third preseason game, I looked out my window and spotted the structure everyone had been buzzing about. That structure was Lucas Oil Stadium, and the first word that came to my mind was simply “wow.”

With no objection from me, we went directly from the airport to the stadium to unload all of the equipment, so I did not have to wait long to get an up close look at just how majestic this stadium was. My anticipation was not disappointed. The first thing I noticed was the shape of the stadium was different from most other stadiums I have seen, in that it was more rectangular than round, making it look more like a factory than a stadium. I was also astounded by the fact that nearly the entire exterior was brick, which made even more obvious the amount of time that went into putting this building together.

The inside of the stadium was breath taking as well. There are six levels of seats on the sidelines, two of which are for suites. In each of the end zones there are large windows, and on what I believe is the west side of the stadium, the windows open up whenever the retractable roof is open. Those windows may cause problems for receivers during day games however, because the ball gets lost in the glare on mid-level and high throws.

When the game started the crowd sounded as if they were cheering during a regular season game. This was not surprising to me based on what I found while walking through the city prior to the game, as everyone was decked out in their Colts gear, even the night before the game.

I was pleasantly surprised by the city overall as there appears to be a lot to do downtown as far as restaurants and bars go, and there is even a large mall only minutes away from the stadium. This city is definitely worth taking a road trip to for a game as you’ve got a beautiful venue to watch it in, and an upbeat town to spend your downtime in.

-Mike Simoncelli

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