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The WNBA All-Star 2025 Host Committee is investing $1 million in community improvements to commemorate the city’s first turn at hosting the league’s midseason showcase.
The Legacy Projects, which seek to empower Hoosier youth and their families, include four brick-and-mortar projects and a youth leadership initiative, nearly all of which have been completed in time for tip-off. Grantees included the Fletcher Place Community Center, the Marion County Commission on Youth, or MCCOY, the Parks Alliance of Indianapolis and the Marvella Project.
The aim of each project is to promote women in sports and leave a lasting impact, said Dianna Boyce, project coordinator and Legacy co-chair of the WNBA All-Star Host Committee.
In selecting project partners, the WNBA All-Star Host Committee was on a short timeline—Indianapolis was picked to host the 2025 game last August after a last-minute scheduling conflict with another host site, giving them less than a year to prepare for the July 19 game. Therefore, Boyce said, the committee searched for projects that were already in the works and already had funding. Grantees were selected based on project type, geographic range, audiences served and sustainability.
“We needed partners that we knew could see these projects through and we would have completion by the time All-Star was here,” she said. “What are the ones where we’re going to see a greater impact long-term?”
Indianapolis’ WNBA All-Star Legacy Projects
Fletcher Place Community Center, located just down the road from Gainbridge, received a grant from the All-Star Host Committee for a full kitchen renovation, a new playground, a rebuilt community garden with a water source, and a new mural located on the east side of the building, painted by local artist Boxx the Artist. The project was unveiled on June 26.
The Legacy Projects also included a grant to the Indy Parks Alliance, where they have invested in a complete revitalization of the basketball court at Al E. Polin Park on 29th Street.
With the funding provided, Boyce said they were able to not only install new basketball hoops but also hire local artist Kierra Ready to paint a mural of the official WNBA All-Star court onto the park’s court. The reveal for the renovated court was July 10.
Another brick-and-mortar project, completed July 1, was a complete renovation of MCCOY, a facility which serves tens of thousands of youth in Indianapolis.
Along with a matching grant with United Way of Central Indiana, Boyce said MCCOY was able to redo the full interior of the building, create a second entrance and make their first entrance accessible to people with disabilities.
Beyond physical projects, the committee is also supporting a student ambassador program led by MCCOY. The program, which involves a cohort of 25 Indiana high school girls in their junior and senior years, seeks to develop leadership skills and introduce them to new people in the community.
Since January, the group has participated in monthly leadership and wellness sessions, including a workshop with the Indianapolis Colts’ Kicking the Stigma initiative, Boyce said.
At the end of the program, each student will receive a $2,500 scholarship for their post-secondary education.
“All of these projects are very cool legacy moments that will impact generations to come long after All-Star has left town,” Boyce said. “The impact of that is real, hence the meaning of legacy.”
Collaborating with Marvella
A fourth project is in progress with the Marvella facility based in Newton County, with support focused on the future construction of Marvella’s championship court and scoreboard. Construction on the court is set to begin in September and is expected to last at least a year or longer, Boyce said.
The championship court is part of a bigger $98 million, three-phase Marvella project. Marvella is expected to occupy 120 acres at Fair Oaks Farms, on the eastern edge of Newton County in northwest Indiana. The project will include 300,000 square feet of buildings, numerous turf fields and courts for basketball, volleyball, flag football, lacrosse and soccer, and a multi-purpose arena for championship events.
The Legacy Project grant will support the final part of the three-phase Marvella project, the championship court, a 5,000-seat indoor arena for championship events, tournament games, concerts and other events.
“Marvella is a very relevant partner because of the community they will serve,” she said. “They’ll serve not just the physical component, but also the mental health component. They’re serving the whole body, and I think that is very important.”
Komen Tissue Bank drive seeks volunteers
In addition to the five core projects, the committee has also leaned into efforts to revisit a breast cancer research initiative from the 2012 Super Bowl.
The Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center has partnered with the committee to collect healthy breast tissue from 500 women, specifically women of color and those under 40 (though women of any age can donate), who, Boyce said, are underrepresented in breast cancer research.
“There are tissue banks around the world that collect breast tissue,” Boyce said. “There’s one tissue bank in the world that collects healthy breast tissue for cancer research, and it’s right here on Michigan Street in Indianapolis.”
The two-day event is July 12-13 at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Making a difference
While the All-Star weekend will soon pass, Boyce said her measure of success is seeing smiles on faces, from kids playing on the new playground at Fletcher Place Community Center to a young child discovering unique vegetables at a community garden.
“Those sorts of real-life examples where you see, ‘OK yeah, this is making a difference in these lives,’ I think those are kind of the rewarding examples that we’re seeing right now,” Boyce said. “Making sure these projects are sustained, and they continue to be able to serve their communities and provide for the people that they are serving is very important to us.”
IBJ reporter Mickey Shuey contributed.
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