Mice feces found in kitchens at Lucas Oil Stadium

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Food inspectors at Lucas Oil Stadium found hundreds of health code violations including the presence of dead rodents and mice droppings in kitchen areas.

Health officials say they began recording serious health violations last December.

24-Hour News 8 found reoccurring violations in the Lucas Oil Stadium Loge Level Suite Kitchen.

Reports show how inspectors found dead pests or rodents as well as mice droppings in the kitchen area four months in a row.

24-Hour News 8 spoke with the man who oversees the County's food safety program. Ed Culver said the food inspections at Lucas Oil Stadium resulted in 42 citations and $3900 in fines.

24-Hour News 8 asked him how that compares to other restaurants and venues in the county.

"That is a higher proportion. And at the beginning when they opened, there were some rough spots. When we first brought this to their attention in February, they did contract with a private company to come in," said Culver.

A company called Centerplate has the contract for food services at Lucas Oil Stadium. The company’s corporate headquarters is in Connecticut.

When 24-Hour News 8 contacted the company, a spokesperson said they would e-mail us a statement. Since the company works closely with the Indiana Convention Center, 24-Hour News 8 spoke with ICC Executive Director Barney Levengood about the food safety reports.

"We've been aware of our challenges and we have been working with the health department and with Centerplate and trying to work on extermination and improving food processes," said Levengood.

Levengood said Centerplate has doubled extermination efforts and taken other measures to improve food safety at the Stadium.

Health officials say food safety at Lucas Oil Stadium has improved and recent inspections found very few violations.

"We have every confidence that when people go to the games, that the food is safe," said Culver.

The Colts organization recently sent a letter to season ticket holders addressing the issue.

Dear COLTS SEASON TICKET HOLDER,

There was a recent media report concerning the sanitation and safety of certain food operations areas inside Lucas Oil Stadium. The Indianapolis Colts are in the process of confirming that any problem is promptly resolved. Nothing is more important to the Indianapolis Colts than the health and safety of our fans. We also believe that anything that can be controlled, such as sanitation, should never be compromised. The entities directly in control of food operations at Lucas Oil Stadium, Centerplate and the CIB, have assured us that they are thoroughly investigating the report and that any issues they identify will be corrected immediately. We are monitoring the progress of the investigation and we have every confidence that the professionals at Centerplate and the CIB will fulfill their commitment.

Sincerely,

The Indianapolis Colts