Bean Field popular tailgate site: compromise over parking at new stadium keeps decades-long tradition alive.

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How's this for irony? The state's now-scuttled plans to raze N.K. Hurst Co.'s headquarters to make way for Lucas Oil Stadium parking would have paved over a long-standing Colts game-day tradition.

The Indianapolis-based bean company has hosted Colts tailgate parties before every home game since the 1980s. Its McCarty Street parking lot--known as Hurst Bean Field--is a short stroll from the RCA Dome and in the shadows of the Colts' new home, making it a hit with tailgaters.

"It's a great time and we feel very fortunate to be where we are," said company President Rick Hurst, a devoted Colts fan. "We wanted to create something that wasn't just a place to park your car and go into the game. Tailgate fans are really just here to have a good time and so that's what we're trying to provide them--it's a place to do that."

Originally, N.K Hurst Co. didn't charge tailgaters for parking in the lot, but the company instituted a $3 per-vehicle fee in 1985 …