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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPacers Sports & Entertainment plans to move the Fort Wayne Mad Ants—its developmental league team—to Noblesville where city officials have pledged to build a $36.5 million arena complete with suites and an event space.
As part of a 10-year deal to be announced Monday afternoon, the city of Noblesville has agreed to construct a 3,400-seat venue at Finch Creek Park, along Boden Road. The Pacers plan to contribute $5 million over 10 years to the project. Noblesville will own the venue and finance it with bonds that will be paid off by lease proceeds.
Construction of the 85,000-square-foot arena is to start this fall, although the Mad Ants—part of the NBA’s G League—will make the move to central Indiana before it’s completed. The team will play its 2023-2024 season, which starts in October, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, Pacers officials said.
Pacers Sports & Entertainment President Rick Fuson said the move stemmed from a desire to consolidate some operations of the Mad Ants and those of the Pacers following the pandemic. The Mad Ants have played several games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse each of the past two seasons.
“What we found from a basketball perspective was the fact that you could [have both teams] practice at St. Vincent’s Center,” Fuson said, referring to the Pacers training facility directly across Delaware Street from the fieldhouse. “They had the same doctors, the same strength and conditioning coaches. That’s the way the league’s going, as there are a number of G League teams [close to NBA markets] and what an opportunity this is for us to go to one of the fastest-growing cities in our state.”
At least nine players on the current Pacers roster have played in the G League since turning pro, Fuson said. By having the teams closer to one another—about 30 miles between the proposed arena and Gainbridge, compared to 130 miles to Fort Wayne—PSE can create more cohesion between the Pacers and the Mad Ants franchises, both operationally and for fans of the teams, he said. Most G League teams and their affiliated NBA teams are within 50 miles of one another.
As part of the move, the Mad Ants—named in honor of Fort Wayne’s namesake “Mad” Anthony Wayne—will get a new nickname, but PSE and the city of Noblesville are still working to determine what that will be. The current moniker will remain in place for the upcoming season.
The G League team is expected to move to the new facility for the 2024-2025 season but will hold all of its practices in Indianapolis.
Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen said the move was “several months in the making.” He said the announcement is a significant moment for the city of 71,000, which has continued to grow rapidly alongside other parts of Hamilton County.
“Indiana is a basketball state, and Noblesville is a basketball city,” Jensen told IBJ, adding that he is optimistic the deal will go beyond its initial 10-year commitment period. “We’re really excited about this.”
A development agreement between the city and Pacers Sports & Entertainment is expected to go before the Noblesville City Council on Tuesday. Groundbreaking is expected in the fall.
The city is working with indoor athletic facility developer Card & Associates, based in Indianapolis, and local firm KRM Architecture, to develop the property. The design is expected to include several suites, an event space, a mezzanine viewing area and a pop-up retail area.
In addition to its $5 million contribution to the project, PSE will work to procure a naming-rights sponsor and other sponsorships for the venue. Fuson said he expects that could bring another $500,000 to the venue every year. It is not expected that all of the Mad Ants sponsors will make the transition to Noblesville—several are Fort Wayne-based companies—but PSE said it would work with those that had an interest in continuing.
In Fort Wayne, the Mad Ants have played their home games at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, which has a capacity of 13,000; the team averaged 2,175 spectators per game in the 2022-2023 season. The new venue would be the seventh-smallest in the 30-team league, by capacity.
The team has been based in Fort Wayne since it was founded in 2007 by Fort Wayne Basketball Group LLC, which was led by majority investors John Zeglis, Julie Potter and Jeff Potter. The Mad Ants won the then-named D League in 2014 and were runners-up in 2015, before being acquired by PSE in September 2015.
Fort Wayne officials were to be informed about the move to Noblesville on Monday morning. PSE said there were no contracts or leases from which the team had to withdraw in order to make the move.
“We love Fort Wayne, and it continues to be a city that has played a very positive role of our state,” Fuson said. “We appreciate the fact that we have been able to play there since we’ve owned [the team] for eight years. But … it’s a different situation today, and that’s one of the reasons that we’re coming back down here and found a great partner in Noblesville.”
The move by the Mad Ants marks the second professional sports franchise to plan moves to Hamilton County. Last year, the Indy Fuel hockey team announced plans to relocate to Fishers, which is building it an arena as part of a larger project.
“I think it just speaks to the overall regional strength that central Indiana has. Indianapolis is certainly known as a convention city, and it’s home to professional sports, but that footprint is just getting bigger,” Jensen said. “I think folks like Pacers Sports & Entertainment and others are seeing the value and having a more diversified fan base and bringing more experiences to areas where communities are growing, allowing for the region to be more of a sports community as a whole.”
A Fort Wayne official said city leaders are “disappointed,” but added the city is committed to seek out new opportunities going forward.
“We anticipate there will be interest from other entities looking to have a professional basketball presence in our community,” said John Perlich, director of public information. “We have a good working relationship with the Pacers and Mad Ants and wish them the very best moving forward in Noblesville.”
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This sounds much more interesting than what Fishers has planned for their arena. Kudos, Noblesville!
OK I’ll bite…In what way? The Fishers arena is almost 2.5x the size, downtown adjacent, within an entertainment district surrounded by apartments, retail and restaurants and will host basketball games and concerts.
I think this sounds like an awesome project as well. Not sure why the fishers arena caught a stray bullet here though?
Wondering the same thing. Not sure how this is “more interesting”…
This is a huge win for Noblesville and Mayor Jensen. Well done!
The General Assembly has appropriated $500,000,000 a year to bolster economic development of Hoosier counties outside Marion and the adjoining donut counties. Now public dollars will be used to poach a major amenity and economic engine from Fort Wayne in order to strengthen an already strong central Indiana economy. It makes no sense to hallow out the economies of 85 counties on one hand and then spend $500 million trying to grow those same counties on the other. It is no wonder that out-state legislators tend to be unhelpful when Mayor Joe and the Indy Chamber of Commerce come calling with their hands out.
Bad for Ft. Wayne.
Hopefully Noblesville will be a good fit.
But it really feels awkward taking from Ft. Wayne. Just doesn’t seem right.
Anyone know what the average attendance was in Ft, Wayne for the Ants.
A minor league basketball team was a major amenity?
I checked a random box score. 1287 attending.
The state can keep robbing Indianapolis but the trend is clear – the action is in Central Indiana.
Very few Indiana counties outside of Central Indiana have any shot of economic revitalization. Almost every market force works against it. Just a handful of counties produce the majority of Indiana’s economic output, and that’s largely because of market conditions.
The $500m/year that the General Assembly appropriates for most counties outside of Central Indiana, NWI, Monroe County, and Tippecanoe County is essentially wasted, and much of the money comes from of Central Indiana, NWI, Monroe County, and Tippecanoe County.
Also I’m not sure how Mayor Joe has anything to do with something going to Noblesville, which has its own mayor and is not in Marion County. And it’s not like the Mad Ants had any significant impact on the economy of FW to begin with. Indiana HS basketball draws more attendance.
Thanks Joe,
The attendance was much lower than I thought.
There is good reason for them to move closer to Downtown Indianapolis. Read the article.
I never knew we had a G league. It will be nice for those surrounding Noblesville to see a game of basketball without all of the fanfare of going downtown to a mediocre game. There will be a large draw, for sure amongst families.
I’m not sure how anyone can say Indianapolis has its hand out. It is the economic engine of the entire state and is a net donor county from a tax revenue standpoint. Moreover, every city and town is an instrument of the State of Indiana, which controls what they can tax and how.
Ft. Wayne will never let that happen.
Ft. Wayne is part of the Indiana Pacers marketing area.
Why poach the Ants??
It’s already happened, there isn’t anything Ft Wayne can do.
The Pacers wanted it to move closer.
Thanks guys!
I jumped the gun with that response.
Fiscal conservatives Hahahahaha. There is an arena in fishers being built. Why not team up to build it for hockey and basketball. The pacers can help with programming so it will make money.
As a Noblesville resident, I can only hope we get to vote on a team name in an upcoming referendum. Any suggestions?
Nobletuckyns
Redneckies
Too bad this isn’t part of a redevelopment effort closer to the center of Noblesville versus more suburban spawl.
Yeah…I was thinking “Bridgestone/Firestone site” before reading the actual location.
Other city officials and residents need to make their voices heard. If the mayor wants taxpayers to pay for this, then make it transformative. Do better!
A very disappointing, bizarre move – and not great PR for the “Indiana” Pacers. I can’t say I’m rooting for this to succeed on many fronts.
I was excited until I saw the rendering and it’s just a cookie cutter high school gym. Boring and no character.
I would imagine this is being done for operational reasons. Moving the team closer to Indianapolis just make sense.
If anyone thinks an NBA team is trying to get rich off their G League team, I have some bridges I’d like to sell.
I question the Pacer’s (Mad Ants) economic viability and market demand for the Pacer’s development team in Noblesville that is located 30 minutes from the Pacer’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
I also question the wisdom of Noblesville to build a dedicated Mad Ant’s basketball stadium that is smaller than their high school gym for a start up basketball team which is not suited for other purposes/tenants.
Just a few facts:
Fort Wayne’s Mad Ant’s average game attendance was 3,159 fans per game in Fort Wayne, with a population of approximately 265,974 people.
This proposed dedicated basketball stadium in Noblesville is planned be a 3,400-seat venue.
Noblesville High School’s basketball stadium has a seating capacity of 4,200.
Fort Wayne’s Coliseum multipurpose stadium has a seating capacity of 13,000.
Pacer’s multipurpose Gainbridge Fieldhouse has a seating capacity of 18,000.
Fishers proposed multipurpose stadium (hockey, basketball, soccer, concerts etc) will have a seating capacity of 8,500. (Indy Fuel average game attendance is approximately 3,800 people)
I hope they plan to use it for more than just the Ants
Spot on