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](http://www.indianacarey.com)
INDIANAPOLIS – Year-after-year sports teams around the United States open up new state of the art stadiums.
Bigger, fancier and eye-popping amenities are inside of these new venues yet through the last three years, one stadium has stood atop all others in the NFL.
Stadium Journey has ranked Lucas Oil Stadium No. 1 in the NFL for best stadium experience.
This marks the third year that Stadium Journey has compiled a list of the best stadium experiences with their writers visiting more than 1,700 venues all over the world.
Paul Swaney, the President & Co-Founder of Stadium Journey, said his staff evaluates each stadium based off the following acronym.
FANFARE:
- Food & Beverage
- Atmosphere
- Neighborhood
- Fans
- Access
- Return on Investment
- Extras
Each area is rated from 0 to 5 stars. The overall composite score is the "FANFARE Score".[
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF LUCAS OIL STADIUM](http://www.colts.com/photos/photo-gallery/Tuesdays-Top-10---LOS/17b5afcc-c32f-42af-a8d0-3168c18e368f#8eedad95-3c49-4131-8e34-5422c52a39a7)
One of the biggest strengths that Lucas Oil Stadium has according to Swaney is the neighborhood it is located in.
Swaney broke down a few of his other favorite attributes that has Lucas Oil Stadium ranked at the top of NFL stadiums:
"The thing that I always think about Lucas Oil is, there's this trend right now in sports to put a giant scoreboard in the middle of your field, the bigger, the better, it seems. One thing neat about Lucas Oil is that it's a very clean sight line because you've got the corner scoreboards."
"The roominess inside the stadium, between the seats that was a good decision not to jam in as many seats as you could. The other thing that I think of is the friendliness of the fans. They are really passionate without being mean or rude towards outsiders. You might see some good nature ribbing of opponents but for the most part they are friendly and passionate and that's a nice combination."
"It seems to me that the Colts have really invested in their staff and I think that shows in the game day experience. The people that are there are trained well. They are knowledgeable and they are there to serve the customers. That's important."
Here is the excerpt from Stadium Journey on Lucas Oil Stadium:*
Indianapolis has the best downtown sports scene in the United States. Every venue in Indianapolis is top notch, and a trip to see the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium is no different. In fact, it may be the best sports experience in the world. That may seem like hyperbole, but go to a Colts game and you will agree that it is a top notch venue.
Maintaining the downtown location, but including a retractable roof means that Lucas Oil Stadium is perfect not only for football but for many other events, including the 2010 Final Four. The stadium is also the host of the Big Ten Football Championship game through 2015. Of course, the highlight was Super Bowl XLVI held here in 2012.
The venue's retractable roof has a window that opens to a view of downtown Indianapolis. The decision of whether or not the roof is open is made at least 90 minutes before kickoff, although the team will try to make the decision and announce to fans somewhere between 2-3 hours before kickoff. The roof is able to open or close in under 11 minutes. The goal is for fans to know whether or not they may want to bring a jacket or sweatshirt with them or leave it in the car.
Lucas Oil Stadium has been named the best stadium experience in 2011 and 2012 by Stadium Journey Magazine.*
