Staging a variety of events at Lucas Oil Stadium will be crucial for the Capital Improvement Board which needs to generate money to pay the venue’s operating costs.

CIB won’t get to keep revenue from Indianapolis Colts games, and it must give the team about half the revenue from other events.

When state officials tapped Dallas-based HKS Inc. as architect for Lucas Oil Stadium, they charged the firm with building it for three main users: the Colts, NCAA basketball tournaments and conventions.

In a deal that helped pave the way for public financing of the new stadium, the NCAA four years ago promised Indianapolis an NCAA men’s Final Four every five years through 2039.

“It truly is an extremely flexible venue,” HKS Associate Principal Mark Williams said.

For example, not only are seats retractable—allowing more seats to be rolled out for an NCAA Final Four—the rolled-out seats can be adjusted vertically to create a site line custom-designed for basketball viewing.

So far, Lucas Oil Stadium already has lined up a variety of events for 2009, from concerts to trade shows to sporting events. The city has 161 event days planned, though some are unconfirmed reservations, according to the ICVA.