Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Field Manager | Lucas Oil Stadium
Ryan May moved to Indianapolis in 2019 to take a job at Pacers Sports & Entertainment working on its utility setup crew. He had been there about nine months when the pandemic broke, and his position was downsized. He started working at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, helping run Bullpen baseball tournaments until he was referred to be the field manager at Lucas Oil Stadium, a job he’s been in since September 2020. There, he oversees the field services department and is responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and use of the field inside Lucas Oil and coordinating all field conversions from event to event. His first day on the job, he sat in on a meeting about the stadium hosting games for the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. His boss looked at him and said, “This will be your baby.” Lucas Oil hosted 27 of 63 games—a proud moment in May’s career.
Why do you do what you do? “Working in operations, you are asked to do crazy things, work long hours and concern yourself with details that most people wouldn’t even consider. … I do what I do because of the memories it creates not only for the people attending but for the people working.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? “Ten years ahead is a long time in [the] ever-changing sports world, so it’s hard to tell. However, I see myself staying at Lucas Oil Stadium, living here in Indianapolis, hopefully raising a family.”
Most-used social media platform: TikTok
Coffee order: Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew from Starbucks or a large hot coffee with two shots of French vanilla and two shots of cream from Dunkin•
Check out more 20 in their Twenties honorees.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.