Pacers Sports & Entertainment is going down to the wire in lining up a new sponsor for the fieldhouse. But the wait might give it extra leverage to strike an especially lucrative deal.
The Fever are coming off a couple of dismal seasons, with just nine wins in 2017 and a franchise-worst six last year. New leadership will be at the helm to try to pull off the turnaround.
Plans call for the outdoor plaza to host concerts and other public events, along with a public ice-skating rink in the winter and a public basketball court in the summer.
The $200 million in upgrades to the Atlanta Hawks’ arena might provide hints as to what Pacers Sports & Entertainment is seeking in hush-hush negotiations with the Capital Improvement Board.
City convention officials are gearing up for a big financial ask of the Indiana General Assembly next year as they set out on a $120 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center at Pan Am Plaza.
Now in her 19th season as the top executive for the Indiana Fever, Kelly Krauskopf is the longest-tenured executive in the WNBA and is now overseeing Pacers Gaming for the NBA2k league.
Pacers Sports & Entertainment should have little problem securing a new naming-rights sponsor for the fieldhouse that will pay at least double the current rate of $2 million a year, experts say.
The 18,165-seat sports and entertainment venue known as Bankers Life Fieldhouse isn’t going anywhere, but the moniker will disappear next year.
A Fishers native and Butler University graduate has been hired to succeed senior vice president Bill Benner, a longtime fixture in the local sports community.
This will be the first time Indianapolis has hosted the event since 1985. It will be held at the 18,165-seat Bankers Life Fieldhouse, not at Lucas Oil Stadium, which seats more than 70,000, an option officials involved with the bid also considered.
Pacers Sports & Entertainment finished a record year this summer—not on the court but in its management of Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Pacers officials already want to start negotiating the next deal. That won’t be cheap. Owner Herb Simon says he’s looking for a “major redo” of Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Pacers organization is preparing to take the virtual court with its new video-gaming team. Meanwhile, Terry Hutchens has compiled a bucket list for Hoosiers hoops fans.
The NBA All-Star Game is broadcast to 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, according to NBA officials. In China alone, nearly 40 million people watch the game and another 10 million do so in Europe.
After working his way up through the Pacers organization, Peter Dinwiddie knows the game inside and out.
The 500 Festival Miler Series will relocate its start and finish lines from White River State Park to Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The more centralized location could help the series grow.
City and Indiana Pacers officials will decide after they get bid requirements later this summer whether to pursue the NBA All-Star Game for Indianapolis.
There will be pressure on the new agency to increase attendance in Tamika Catching’s final year. Last season the Fever’s attendance declined 5.3 percent.
Dave Neff helped build the not-for-profit Edge Mentoring to guide millennials and young professionals on issues of relationships, careers, purpose and faith.
James Morris, vice chairman of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, has been chosen for the biennial prize. As part of the honor, he will recommend a recipient for a $100,000 grant.
