Colts preseason finale sold out, but 1,000 remain for regular season opener

Andrew Luck, quarterback of the Colts, Indianapolis Colts at Washington Redskins, FedEx Field, Landover, MD, Saturday, August 25,

The Colts’ preseason finale Thursday night against Cincinnati at Lucas Oil Stadium is sold out.

But there are about 1,000 tickets left for the regular-season home opener Sept. 16 against Minnesota.

 

“We’re optimistic they’ll be sold,’’ Pete Ward, the team’s chief operating officer, said Tuesday.

 

The game must be sold out to be shown on television in the Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Terre Haute and Lafayette television markets. Stadium capacity is 62,421.

 

The Colts have sold out 113 of their past 114 regular-season and playoff games, including 79 in a row. The last game to be blacked out locally was Sept. 21, 2003 against Jacksonville.

How much Luck?

The workload for Andrew Luck and the starting offense against the Bengals has yet to be determined, but any level will be embraced.

 

“Any experience is incredibly helpful for me right now, just to be out there and with a lack of really any NFL experience,’’ Luck said Tuesday. “Take advantage of some game experience.’’

 

Monday, coach Chuck Pagano said Luck and the No. 1 offense would play a series or two in the final preseason game. Tuesday, he made it clear playing time would be weighed against the risk of injury.

 

“You’re always worried about trying to get out of (the preseason) as healthy as possible,’’ Pagano said. “At the same time, all of those guys still need the work.’’

 

Luck and many of the front-line offensive players played deep into the second quarter of the first preseason game against St. Louis, the entire first half against Pittsburgh and through the first series of the third quarter last Saturday against Washington.

Ect.

The team claimed receiver Kashif Moore, who was waived by the Bengals, and waived-injured receiver Jarred Fayson. Moore is a 5-9, 180-pound rookie out of Connecticut … Oliver Luck, father of the Colts’ rookie QB, has been selected by the NFL to join its player safety advisory panel … The Colts and Indianapolis Fire Fighters Local 416 are asking fans attending Thursday night’s game to “fill their boots’’ with cash donations. All proceeds will be donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Collection stations will be positioned outside Lucas Oil Stadium.

Call Star reporter Mike Chappell at (317) 444-6830

Call Star reporter Mike Chappell at (317) 444-6830. Follow him on Twitter @mchappell51.

Colts preseason finale sold out, but 1,000 remain for regular season opener