Southern Indiana's limestone is on display in one of the most talked-about buildings in sports the new Yankee Stadium.

 

The standard buff Indiana limestone used in the $1.5 billion stadium was supplied by Indiana Limestone Fabricators of Spencer. There has also been major involvement by at least two other firms Indiana Limestone Co. and W. F. Meyers Co., both of Bedford.

 

"The stone was quarried by Indiana Limestone Co. from a quarry located less than a mile from the one from which stone for the Empire State Building was quarried in 1930," said Jim Owens, executive director of the Indiana Limestone Institute.

 

"The stone was fabricated by Indiana Limestone Fabricators and shipped on A-frames on edge to protect the stone from breakage, to BPDL Inc., a family-owned precast company in Alma, Quebec."

 

There it was attached to precast panels and shipped to the Bronx. Each composite panel included an estimated 10 to 20 pieces, and this system allowed the panels to be erected expeditiously by the setter, Conventional Stone and Marble of Mineola, N.Y.

 

"There was a total of 10,823 pieces amounting to 72,000 square feet of Indiana limestone on the precast façade, along with some 30,000 square feet of granite," Owens said. "The V-cut letters in the limestone at each entrance were cut at the mill, utilizing Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) cutting technology, which has replaced the traditional hand-cutting methods in many parts of the stone industry."

 

In order to achieve the demanding production schedule required for the project, Indiana Limestone Fabricators purchased a custom-designed machine and built an addition to its facility for the machine, which provided the stone finish. The machine was designed and built by W. F. Meyers Co.

 

When it was decided to build a new stadium, the architect, HOK Sport out of Kansas City, and Tishman-Speyer, the developer that served as the owner's representative for the Yankees, selected Indiana limestone as one of the products for the stadium, Owens said.

 

"Tishman-Speyer paid a visit to the mill on two occasions and provided a flag for mill employees," he added. "That flag is housed in the building addition where the majority of the work was done."

 

Select Buff Indiana Limestone quarried by Victor-Oolitic Stone Co. of Bloomington and also fabricated by Indiana Limestone Fabricators was used in the Great Hall and on the "Legends Suites" boxes in the stadium.

 

The historic Yankee Stadium was built in 1923 and renovated in 1975. When a decision was made to construct the new stadium, the growing importance of luxury boxes found in newer stadiums was among considerations.

 

"Luxury boxes are a major source of revenue for teams," Owens said. "The existing stadium had 10 luxury boxes, and another renovation would add few if any more. But a new stadium could be built that would have 56 luxury suites, while only reducing the regular seat total by about 4,000."

 

Its importance as a tourist attraction was another reason to consider erecting a new stadium. For numerous visitors to New York, the sites to see include the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station and Yankee Stadium.

 

"Unless there was a game in the stadium, visitors were unable to enter the structure just walk around the outside," Owens pointed out. "The new stadium solved that problem, since it includes a museum and restaurants that are open year-round."