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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis sports fans and collectors lined up Thursday to buy seats salvaged from Bush Stadium, snapping up more than 300 in the first day of the three-day sale—six times as many as organizer People for Urban Progress had expected for the entire offering.
The not-for-profit plans to use proceeds to refurbish stadium seats for use at IndyGo bus stops, a project the group began in late 2011, said Amy Crook, a PUP spokeswoman.
The seats are being sold "as-is" and don't include a base. The group also is taking orders for refurbished seats with new hardware and a base.
PUP, which focuses on small projects that improve urban quality of life, partnered with Indianapolis Fabrications, RecycleForce and Ecolaborative to salvage 9,000 seats from the former home of the Indianapolis Indians in February 2012.
A local developer is rehabbing the stadium's historic façade as part of a $23 million apartment redevelopment.
Gary Watson, an Indians fan who attended the last game at Bush Stadium and the first at Victory Field, picked up a set of two seats for his son who lives in Dallas but plans to move back to Indianapolis.
Watson spotted a news story about the sale and planned to call his son, an Indians enthusiast, but heard from him first. The seats—red ones numbered 1 and 2—will complement an Indians memorabilia collection including souvenirs from that final game in 1996.
The sale continues from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Indianapolis Fabrications, 1125 Brookside Ave., Suite G50.
Seats are available as singles for $45, pairs for $80, sets of three for $120 or four for $160.
There should be more than enough "as-is" seats to meet demand from buyers during the remaining days of the sale, said Randy Domeck, whose company, Indianapolis Fabrications, is storing the seats and refurbishing the ones that will wind up at IndyGo stops.
Refurbished seats also are available for sale, from $800 to $975 for a set of two, or between $1,350 and $1,700 for four.
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