Indianapolis - The Colts only have two more seasons in the RCA Dome, but Indianapolis residents will be paying for it until 2021, long after the enclosed stadium has disappeared from the landscape.
The city still owes about $75 million in principal on bonds related to the construction of the stadium, which opened as the Hoosier Dome in 1984. The original debt was supposed to be paid off by 2013, but refinancings have pushed that back eight years.
A portion of the money used to pay for the bonds is raised through a Marion County restaurant tax. That means that each dinner and drink sold in Indianapolis helps to pay down the dome debt.
The RCA Dome will be torn down in 2008 to make way for an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center. That's the same year the Colts will begin playing in nearby Lucas Oil Stadium.
(Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
