With March Madness set to continue this weekeend, one Elite Eight and two Sweet 16 games will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. It is not the first time that a college basketball game is going to be played at a football stadium nor is it going to be the last.
However, there are mixed reactions about the configuration.
Typically, when a college basketball game is played at an NFL stadium, it is for the Final Four. The court is placed right at the 50-yard-line with temporary stands on the field. The rest of the stadium is wide open. Nothing about the standard setup changes. A full capacity is available, plus some.
Lucas Oil Stadium can fit approximately 70,000 people when organized for hoops. It has done so before. It will do so again for the Final Four in 2026 and 2029.
That is not the case in Indy on Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The 2025 Final Four will be played in San Antonio but the Midwest Region will play the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight at Lucas Oil. That portion of the bracket includes Kentucky, Tennessee, Houston and Purdue.
A maximum capacity of 70,000 is cut more or less in half to 35,000. To provide a better perspective, this is how seats are being sold:
Unlike the Final Four, the basketball court itself is placed just inside the north end zone. One sideline is located at the 15ish-yard-line. The other is located at the back of the end zone where the goal post would typically stand.
First look. pic.twitter.com/cX428HIcMO
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) March 27, 2025
A giant curtain hangs down from the roof at the 50ish-yard-line behind a set of temporary bleachers to block off the rest of the stadium.
Lucas Oil Stadium where Kentucky-Tennessee play Friday night. #BBN #ukbasketball #ncaatourney pic.twitter.com/jMFWDDu1xu
— John Clay (@johnclayiv) March 27, 2025
The curtain becomes the backdrop for one of the two sidelines.
Here we go—the view both in front and behind the curtain of Lucas Oil Stadium Midwest Regional set up. pic.twitter.com/cf7tfPTjfO
— John Huang (@KYHuangs) March 27, 2025
In addition to the unique usage of space, the court itself is elevated off of the floor.
Here is the set up at Lucas Oil Stadium for Kentucky’s Midwest Regional. The court is basically set in an end zone. The Wildcats HD the chance to practice on the elevated court. pic.twitter.com/ztbqwV4BUf
— Keith Farmer (@KeithFarmer18) March 27, 2025
The configuration looks fairly normal if you are standing/sitting at the 40-yard-line looking toward what would normally be the end zone. If I had to guess, CBS will broadcast in that direction because the same cannot be said for the other angle.
Using about 1/4 of Lucas Oil Stadium for @KentuckyMBB NCAA game. With elevated floor. pic.twitter.com/ZUXzgNWfoM
— Darrell Bird (@DarrellBird) March 27, 2025
A large number of basketball purists hate that such important March Madness games are not being played at a basketball arena. On the flip side of that frustration, there is more room for more fans which also helps to decrease the price of tickets. State Farm Arena in Atlanta is hosting the South Region. It fits only 16,888 versus about 35,000. Tickets cost more than double those of the Midwest Region.
There is not a bad seat in the house at Lucas Oil. There is also not a good seat. The unique configuration creates a very strange dynamic. We likely won’t feel a major difference watching the games at home. It will feel (and look and sound) completely different inside the stadium!
Not only will the fans have to adjust, so will the players. Sight lines look completely different in such a big venue compared to a normal college basketball gym. First half under?