Indy Eleven stadium builds momentum
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A rendering shows a new Indy Eleven soccer stadium along the White River. Image: Courtesy of Keystone Group
Indy Eleven's proposed 20,000-seat soccer stadium is moving ahead.
Driving the news: The city's Metropolitan Development Commission next week will consider creating a special district, called a professional sports development area, which would help pay for Keystone Group's Indy Eleven-anchored mixed-use project along the White River.
Why it matters: Indianapolis is approaching a July 1 deadline to create the new district, as stipulated in a 2019 law (amended in 2021) that made the soccer stadium project possible.
How it works: The professional sports development area will encapsulate property in and around the former Diamond Chain Co. property at 402 Kentucky Ave., including all future development as well as some existing hotels, restaurants and parking lots.
- The designation enables the city to take some money produced by those properties, including through the innkeeper's tax and food and beverage tax, and divert it toward the Indy Eleven project instead of the state or Capital Improvement Board, where it would otherwise go.
What's happening: Developer Keystone Group has amassed 20 acres of land around the Diamond Chain property and is demolishing existing buildings.
- The plan calls for 600 apartments, 200,000 square feet of offices, a hotel, green space and retail.
- Keystone Group wants to complete the stadium in time for the 2025 Indy Eleven season.
What we're watching: The Indy Eleven district is on the Metropolitan Development Commission's Wednesday agenda.
- If approved, the City-County Council could introduce the measure Nov. 13 and pass it by Dec. 4, sending it back to the MDC for one last approval.
The intrigue: Even with the special district in place, Keystone Group would face a long road of negotiations with the city.
- The developer is likely months away from an agreement on financial incentives.
- "We're nowhere near a final deal," Mayor Joe Hogsett said Thursday during a debate.
The bottom line: The city is taking a major step toward supporting Eleven Park.