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INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Pacers will stay in Indianapolis for 25 more years as part of an agreement approved Friday that provides $ 295 million in public funding for the renovation and expansion of Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the downtown core of the team from the NBA.
The vote of the Marion County Capital Improvement Commission in favor of the agreement comes as state lawmakers negotiated a plan to divert revenues from the sales tax and the government. Local and local taxes generated by several downtown hotels towards the arena project.
The agreement provides that the Pacers will spend $ 65 million on renovations, which will include the construction of a year-round outdoor parking space instead of the existing parking garage next to the arena and the modernization of the park. inside. It commits the board to spend up to $ 120 million for upgrading technology in the management center, opened in 1999.
Herbert Simon, the 84-year-old team owner, said he wanted to keep the Pacers in Indiana and named his son, Steve Simon, to eventually take over the franchise that belongs to the family since 1983.
"The Simon family has always wanted the Pacers to stay in Indiana for the long term," Herbert Simon said in a statement. "The new agreement ensures that the Pacers will be present and that the pavilion will continue to be the best establishment possible for generations of fans and guests."
The outdoor esplanade is expected to host concerts and other public events, with a public ice rink in the winter and a public basketball court in the summer.
"This is becoming an entertainment opportunity all year," said Rick Fuson, president and chief operating officer of the team.
Construction is expected to begin next year after the end of the Pacers season, but work will be suspended before the NBA All-Star Team in February 2021. The final phase of the project, which will include the outer square, is expected to be completed in 2022. The Indiana Fever of the WNBA will have to play home games elsewhere for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons.
A long-term agreement with the Pacers was a condition of the state legislature's bill making the grants available for the arena project. No new taxes will be imposed, but tax revenues related to hotels will be diverted from state schools, city and local schools.
Under this new agreement, the Capital Improvement Council will continue to pay the operating costs of the arena, from $ 12.5 million per year to approximately $ 16 million in the following years, before the expiration of the agreement in 2044. This amount would represent about 362 million of the life of the case.
The legislature is also in the process of extending the city's admission, car rental and hotel taxes until 2040, generating approximately $ 77 million a year for the board, which also oversees the Lucas Oil stadiums. , Indiana and the Victory Field Baseball Palaces.
Chairman of the Board, Melina Kennedy, said the agreement with the Pacers would improve a stadium used for events throughout the year.
"It's really important that we have a world-class facility that continues to attract fans," Kennedy said.
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