Ind. fairgrounds Coliseum upgrade to add new arena

INDIANAPOLIS — The $63 million renovation of the Indiana State Fairgrounds’ Coliseum complex will include adding a new, 20,000-square-foot arena.

State Fair Commission Chairman Andre Lacy tells The Indianapolis Star the new arena linked to the Coliseum’s south side will boost annual revenues and “is vital to the overall project.”

He says the new arena will keep youth hockey games and horse shows going while the Coliseum hosts concerts and other events.

The upgraded Coliseum will seat as many as 9,000 people, up from the current 1939 building’s 8,000-person capacity. The new arena will have bleacher seating for between 500 and 1,000 people.

Fair officials expect the new arena to be completed by July 2013, a year before the entire renovation project is done.