INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A farewell ceremony at the RCA Dome for more than 3,400 Indiana soldiers being deployed to support the war in Iraq will be closed to the public, military officials said.

Indiana National Guard spokeswoman Lt. Col. Deedra Thombleson said the Jan. 2 event won't be open to the public because there's only room for the roughly 26,000 people expected to attend.

"We're not opening the whole Dome; we're only using half the Dome," Thombleson said Friday. "There's only 26,000 seats available."

She said the Guard expects nearly that number of relatives and friends of the soldiers from the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to attend and wants to make sure they have enough seats.

The brigade's deployment is expected to be the largest single unit shipped out by the Indiana National Guard since World War II.

Master Sgt. Jodie Newby said the Guard could have used the entire RCA Dome, which seats 58,000, but "our priority was the soldiers deploying and their family members."

"The media can carry it for the public," Newby said.

The soldiers will ship out for additional training at Fort Stewart, Ga., before joining U.S. forces involved in the war in March. They come from units from Columbus, Jasper, New Albany, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Indianapolis, Crawfordsville, Greencastle and Remington.

During the ceremony, the guests will hear from Gov. Mitch Daniels, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, the Indiana Guard's adjutant general.

Greg Ballard, who will become mayor of Indianapolis the day before, and Colts President Bill Polian will be among several other speakers.

Daniels said Friday that he expects to feel "great concern but also pride" at the ceremony.

"These are the best people we have. They make a double sacrifice. Not only do they put themselves at risk, but they leave families and jobs behind to do it," he said. "So January 2nd is going to be an emotional day."

The brigade's send-off is believed to be a first for Indianapolis, although in February 2003, a month before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a pro-military rally on Monument Circle attracted about 1,000 people.