Lucas Oil Stadium Cited For 373 Food Violations Since January '08

Lucas Oil Stadium Has Had The Most Food Violations In Indianapolis Since January '08

From January '08 to October 2, 2009, Marion County (IN) Health Department food-service inspectors found more violations at Lucas Oil Stadium "than at any other location by address in Indianapolis," according to Nichols & Spalding of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. During that period, restaurants and other venues at the stadium "accumulated 373 violations, with 142 critical violations, also more than any other location by address in Marion County." A summary of violations showed that the Loge Level Kitchen "accumulated the most citations -- 28 -- since 2008," while street-level food carts "also were cited 28 times collectively." In "at least two instances during the period, Lucas Oil was cited for 'presence of pests/or rodents in facility.'" Centerplate, the stadium's concessionaire, and the Capital Improvement Board (CIB), which operates the facility, "hired more operations managers after Health Department inspections resulted in $3,900 in fines." Centerplate President & CEO Des Hague in a statement said that the operations are "undergoing a 'deep review' with CIB Executive Director Barney Levengood to create 'enhanced processes and procedures.'" Nichols & Spalding noted Centerplate planned to "employ 15 food inspectors during" last night's Patriots-Colts game at the stadium (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 11/14).

EARLY DEPARTURE? In Indianapolis, Francesca Jarosz reports a "major shake-up could be ahead" for the CIB, and among the "biggest changes could be the departure" of VP Pat Early. Under a state law passed this summer, the "terms of all nine members of the board, which manages the city's stadiums and the Indiana Convention Center, will expire in January." Early has "handled the ongoing discussions aimed at keeping" the Pacers in town, and he said that those talks have "intensified in recent weeks." Early said that discussions with the Pacers "have become 'more meaningful and serious' now that the CIB has a better grasp on its financial situation." After "years of financial losses, the NBA franchise has said it no longer can bear" the $15M a year it costs for the team to operate Conseco Fieldhouse. Early "hoped to have some potential solutions by the end of the year and emphasized there's an urgency to finding an answer" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 11/16).