Indy southwest grandstands getting a facelift.

Sections of the Southwest Vista grandstand at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are being dismantled and rebuilt as part of the Speedway's normal offseason maintenance program.

The Southwest Vista, located outside the exit of Turn 1 and the first part of the south short chute between Turns 1 and 2, was constructed in three parts in the late 1960s. Approximately one-third of the Southwest Vista was dismantled and rebuilt between October 2001-May 2002.

"It is simply part of the normal, periodic refurbishment and renovation of our older grandstands structures," said Kevin Forbes, director of engineering and construction for the Speedway. "It is time to take them apart and virtually make them new again."

The stands will be rebuilt exactly as they appear now, with no seats removed or added.

"The whole thing comes down a piece at a time, it gets shipped off to a facility where it is completely sandblasted down to bare metal," Forbes said. "Then at these facilities, the whole completed piece will be hot-dipped galvanized and brought back for reassembly."

The same process was completed in past years to the South Vista on the outside of the short chute between Turns 1 and 2 and to the H and J Stands on the outside of the exit of Turn 4. Parts of the C Stand underneath the Hulman Terrace Suites on the mainstraightaway also were refurbished in previous years.

"There are a couple of things that some spectators may notice," Forbes said. "They (stands) will have a much more pleasing appearance, there will be no signs of rust, no signs of peeling paint and no signs of different colours of paint.

"Also, the majority of the Southwest Vista still has wooden seats - they will be replaced with aluminum seats."

The project will not affect seating for any IMS event and will be complete in time for the 87th Indianapolis 500 on May 25, 2003.