Work underway on $78M performance facility for Indiana Fever

Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark turns over dirt during the groundbreaking ceremony for the WNBA team's Fever Sports Performance Center on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (IBJ photo/Mickey Shuey)

The construction process for a new dedicated practice facility for the city’s WNBA team has officially begun, with team and city officials breaking ground on the development Thursday morning.

The $78 million building, which will be known as the Indiana Fever Sports Performance Center, is set to open by May 2027 on the western portion of the former Marion County Jail I site at Maryland and Delaware Streets, south of the Julia Carson Transit Center. The three-floor, 108,000-square-foot center will be among the largest practice facilities for any WNBA team when it opens.

Plans for the project were first announced in January following nearly a year of behind-the-scenes discussions with city officials about acquiring the site.

The building’s design was modified somewhat from the original proposal, but officials with Pacers Sports & Entertainment—the entity that owns the Fever and the Indiana Pacers—said the scope hasn’t changed.

The facility is expected to feature two regulation-size basketball courts, a full-service kitchen, a private outdoor courtyard and a spa-style retreat space with amenities including infrared light therapy, sauna, steam, heat studios, a float tank and multiple hydrotherapy pools. It will also offer yoga and Pilates areas, a strength and conditioning space, and mental health amenities.

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Mel Raines, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said in remarks during the groundbreaking ceremony that the project is “laying the foundation for the future of the Indiana Fever and continuing the decades of making Indianapolis a world class sport city.”

Raines, who has been with the company since 2015, oversaw the $400 million renovation to Gainbridge Fieldhouse that started in 2020. The Herb Simon family, which is the majority owner of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, is also developing a hotel and music venue across Pennsylvania Street from the fieldhouse. A formal groundbreaking hasn’t been set for that $300 million project.

“I’ve had the privilege over the last few years to work on a few construction projects around here, and I have to tell you that this project is incredibly personal to me,” she said. “I can’t wait to open the doors on this new facility.”

The project is across Delaware Street from another development proposed along Virginia Avenue—a $30 million apartment, parking garage and retail development that will occupy a corner surface lot and integrate with the 1 Virginia Ave. mixed-use building.