Indy Eleven’s stadium hopes continue
The process continues for Indy Eleven and their hope for a stadium.
Senate Bill 7, authored by Senator and head of the Appropriations committee Luke Mishler, had a strong case behind it. The Capital Improvement Board which helps maintain public buildings like Lucas Oil Stadium and Bankers Life Fieldhouse and it’s creation has retained the teams who play in those facilities, the Indianapolis Colts, and Indiana Pacers. The bill itself would increase their funding while also leading the way for an extension for the Indiana Pacers to continue playing in not only Bankers Life Fieldhouse but would keep the team in town instead of leaving for another state.
Enter Indy Eleven.
On February 14th Senator Jack Sandlin proposed that his original bill, Bill 543, which was never likely to have a hearing, be amended into Mishler’s bill. Both bills were fairly similar dealing with the CIB, but Sandlin’s bill was going to garner far more attention than Mishler’s bill alone. Sandlin’s bill held the key to Indy Eleven’s future home.
Let’s try to break this down
If you would like to read the entire amendment (amendment 7) the 19-page document will be linked at the bottom of this article. The gist of the actual amendment structures the public aspects of the development similar to many of the things in downtown Indianapolis. It will use a”Luxury” tax which will be implemented on stores, restaurants, hotels and other tourist-type locations. It’s the reason you might have a 99 dollar hotel somewhere with about 30 dollars in tax.
The screenshotted portion of the bill below is one of the biggest if not the biggest obstacle for Indy Eleven to climb.
The first challenge: Major League Soccer
Amendment 7 includes a clause that binds the construction of a multi-purpose soccer-specific stadium to be constructed and leased to a Major League Soccer expansion team, which Indy Eleven is not. Indy Eleven submitted a bid to join the top flight of American soccer back in 2017 and weren’t selected as a finalist. Since then, MLS has pushed through nearby FC Cincinnati, Miami, Austin FC, and another nearby fellow USL team, Nashville SC. Since then, Indy Eleven has solidified itself both financially, internally, and on the field finding a solid home in USL.
The challenge that this clause causes is a bit to unpack. One of the main reasons this challenges Indy Eleven and the amendment’s future is due to no one really having a clue where expansion stands for MLS after Miami and Austin join the league. MLS hasn’t specifically stated when they will stop accepting new teams, though many can understandably see a scenario where they don’t truly stop because who can turn down a 200+ million dollar check but realistically MLS, for stability sake, has to stop accepting teams.
Another portion of the Major League Soccer bid is Indy’s “position” on the remaining list of cities. Sacramento, Phoenix, Detroit all sit higher on the possible future MLS expansion city list compared to Indianapolis. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to believe that Indianapolis might jump in line with a viable MLS stadium option in their hand. The main issue with this bill being tied to a position in Major League Soccer is just the lack of knowledge of what the future of expansion will be like in MLS past Miami and Austin.
The second challenge: Money
While 400 million dollars of the 550 million dollar development is going to privately financed (something many local media outlets left out), the new amendment included a clause that the eventual deal would require the team to contribute “20% of the cost to construct the facility.” The other 80% of the financing for the stadium would come from the taxes collected and developer backed bonds that would be issued.
What does this mean and where do we go from here?
What does this mean? Where does the team go from here? What can be taken away from the passing of this bill by the Appropriations Committee?
This is clearly the first battle in a long war. From here, the bill leaves committee and makes its way to the State Senate. It will go through the same discussion if not more than the appropriations committee put it through it. There could be more amendments put on it. There could be amendments stripping amendment 7 for pieces. The key part to remember is this bill isn’t specifically for Indy Eleven. It will be interesting to watch the fight Indy Eleven will go through supporting a bill they might not be qualified to utilize. This bill also covers the Pacers deal with Banker’s Life Fieldhouse as well as things like expansion of the convention center. All of this packed into a bill will make this definitely one that gets deep levels of review.
From the state Senate, if it’s approved, it will go to the house. Following that, it can be signed into law.
Indy Eleven is brewing up quite the battle off the pitch. If 2019 wasn’t going to be a massive season on the field, the result of this bill will almost certainly plant the flag on the future for Indiana’s team and we will know where this team will be for years to come.
