Officials said the Capital Improvement Board was working diligently to find out what exactly happened when two fans were injured in a fall after Sunday's Colts game.
The unidentified fans were injured when the barrier they were leaning against gave way just above the tunnel leading to Oakland's locker room. They fell hard onto the walkway. One fan was taken away on a stretcher, while another, witnesses said, left in a wheelchair.
About three hours after the Colts beat Oakland 21-17 in the season opener, Barney Levengood, executive director of the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, issued a statement that said one of the people was released after receiving medical attention at the stadium. The other person, Levengood said, was treated at the stadium and transported to Methodist Hospital for additional evaluation.
The second fan, Levengood said, did not appear to be seriously injured.
"We're investigating currently if this is something that was a malfunction, was an installation issue. Was it the fans that were doing something? So we really don't know at this point. We have some preliminary thoughts. But we're working on it," Levengood said. "We're talking to eyewitnesses and trying to put together the pieces. But from what we can tell, they were leaning over the rail. And also there was some malfunction with the rail. And we're trying to determine that."
The area where the accident occurred was immediately roped off and surrounded by security guards, who kept fans out of that section of the stadium.
Indianapolis' next home game is next Sunday against Miami, and city officials announced Aug. 30 that they would bid to host the Super Bowl in 2018. Lucas Oil Stadium hosted the Super Bowl in February 2012 and received rave reviews from the league and around the country.
Follow Norman Cox on Twitter: @normancox6
