Coverage from Indianapolis' WTHR.com.
"This town's not big enough for the both of us," the brand new Lucas Oil Stadium likely uttered to its next-door neighbor the RCA Dome just before 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20. That's when demolition crews detonated nearly 900 explosive devices, reducing the former home of the Indianapolis Colts to a carefully constructed pile of broken concrete and twisted steel. The RCA Dome, also previous host to a plethora of Indianapolis conventions, concerts and sporting events including the Drum Corps International "Midwestern Championships" from 2000 to 2007, has been vacant since the opening of the city's Lucas Oil Stadium. Prior to its Saturday demolition, the outer structure of the RCA Dome facility has remained intact even after crews deflated its expansive cloud-like fabric roof in late September. Over eight years of the DCI Midwestern Championships, some 25,000 marching musicians made their way through downtown Indianapolis and the RCA Dome's system of airlocks to perform for drum corps fans. After crews begin to remove the rubble, construction can begin on a $275 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center to be completed in 2010. The 2009 Drum Corps International World Championships will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium from August 4-8. Learn more about the RCA Dome demolition at Indystar.com. Purchase tickets to the 2009 DCI World Championships. View a photo gallery of past Drum Corps International events at the RCA Dome.