30-01-2025
How the new $78 million Fever practice facility fits into Indianapolis' plans for downtown
In December, Indianapolis announced the demolition of the former Marion County jail known as Jail I, promising to remove what has long been seen as an eyesore on a highly visible downtown block.
Just a month later, Pacers Sports and Entertainment announced a gleaming new development to take the place of the jail, which has sat largely vacant since 2022: a $78 million performance facility for the Indiana Fever complete with two regulation basketball courts.
For Fever fans and WNBA supporters, the facility represented an overdue commitment to women's sports, with many on social media celebrating a step in the right direction toward gender equity in professional sports. Others, however, lamented the decision to turn one of the few undeveloped city-owned properties downtown into a high-profile sports investment rather than find a public use for the site.
City officials say the Fever development, which is not receiving money from the city, plays a key role in the city's South Downtown Connectivity Plan. The 2023 city plan identified a scarcity of retail space in the south downtown neighborhood.
After the city completes demolition, scheduled for this summer, the parcel will be split into two equally-sized parcels. The Fever performance center will take up the western portion of the block, leaving open redevelopment for the eastern side. The Fever announcement "makes that site more attractive," Megan Vukusich, the city's Director of Metropolitan Development told IndyStar on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Mayor Joe Hogsett said the city would like to see the remaining land used for one of the four pillars of the mayor's downtown resiliency plan: housing, public space, infrastructure, or economic development.
The surrounding area already has some housing projects underway. A short way away, the site of the former Marion County Jail II is undergoing a $120 million transformation into loft-style apartments and retail that will be known as the Cole Motor campus. Nearby, some 500 new units are coming online in the next few years at the City Market redevelopment and the Old City Hall project.
The area could see additional public-use projects in the future, said Taylor Schaffer, president of Downtown Indy Inc.
"I think we have to view all of these things as not an either or, but really maximizing the cross section of developments that make sense within each specific site," Schaffer told IndyStar. "There is still opportunity for additional development. This isn't going to look like a brick wall."
Indianapolis paid $4 million to demolish the jail. Once demolition is complete, the city will give the western portion of the jail parcel to the Capitol Improvement Board, which will own and operate the facility, similar to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Pacers Sports and Entertainment will pay the full $78 million to build the facility and no CIB money will go toward development, a CIB spokesperson said.
Though only Fever players and staff will use the practice facility, the team will hold community activities with an interactive lobby and team store, franchise officials said.
Downtown officials see that use as a big step up from the jail.
The site "has felt like a corridor that is primarily and frequently trafficked by so many out-of- town and local guests, and it hasn't felt welcoming, it hasn't felt inviting, it hasn't felt like the introduction to Indianapolis that you want to have," Schaffer said. "So to me, the idea that there is street level engagement with this planned facility, that there is retail component, that gives people a reason to go explore."
Pacers Sports and Entertainment executives saw the empty site as an opportunity to invest in women's sports in Indianapolis, said PS&E CEO Mel Raines.
The $78 million facility will "set the standard" in the WNBA, Raines said. Many WNBA teams have to practice in their NBA counterparts' spaces or share community gyms.
"Having the best training facility for female professional athletes hopefully in the country, certainly we're hoping in the WNBA, to set the new standard helps with that stated goal," Raines said.
Indy unveils big goal: 'Become the women's sports capital of the world'
When asked if Pacers Sports and Entertainment had any other plans to expand the sports and entertainment campus in the near future, Raines reiterated the organization's strong support of the area.
"Herb Simon (the Pacers owner) remains really bullish on downtown and is really invested in it, and so I would never say that we're done expanding," Raines said. "Herb loves downtown Indianapolis, and he wants to continue to invest and be a good partner of the city and the state."
The soon-to-be Fever practice center falls within the bounds of a special tax district the city has proposed to finance a potential Major League Soccer stadium as the city lobbies for a franchise.
The facility's taxing mechanism is awaiting approval from the state, but if approved, a portion of the taxes would be redirected to pay for a soccer stadium if Indianapolis succeeds in welcoming an MLS team.
Such revenue would include sales taxes from the Fever team store and "other economic activity around that location,", the mayor's office said. The eastern land development is also expected to produce tax revenue.
MLS: Simon-affiliated company quietly purchases another property near MLS stadium site
Alysa Guffey covers growth and development for IndyStar. Have a business story or tip? Contact her at amguffey@
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How the new Fever facility fits into downtown Indianapolis development
