Fever to get new $78M practice, training complex at former downtown jail property

Pacers Sports & Entertainment plans to spend $78 million build a dedicated training complex for the Indiana Fever on a portion of the former Marion County Jail I property in downtown Indianapolis.

The three-story, 108,000-square foot facility, to be called the Indiana Fever Sports Performance Center, is expected open by May 2027, just ahead of that year’s WNBA season.

The complex will be built on the northeast corner of Maryland and Delaware streets, on the western half of a property that has long been occupied by the former correctional facility, which is now being demolished. The property is across Maryland Street from the Virginia Avenue Parking Garage, about a block from Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The project is being developed through an interlocal agreement between PS&E, the city of Indianapolis and the Capital Improvement Board of Marion County. Construction could begin as early as August.

Certain details for the complex are still being finalized, but initial plans call for 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 performance areas.

The project will feature office areas for Fever personnel, along with a hair and nail salon, childcare space and content- production areas for players, including a podcast studio. It will also house a team store and offer opportunities for players to engage directly with fans.

The facility will be connected to the Virginia Avenue Parking Garage by a skybridge over Maryland Street. The parking garage is connected to Gainbridge Fieldhouse via a skybridge over Delaware Street.

“We are excited to partner with Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett to identify the perfect location for the Indiana Fever Sports Performance Center,” PS&E Owner Herb Simon said in written remarks. “The city of Indianapolis continues to be a tremendous partner as we elevate our team, players and community.”

The construction will be led by Shiel Sexton, while design firm Populous will be the architect of record.

In addition to the planned investment in the Fever, the Simon family has made or promised significant investments in the area surrounding Gainbridge Fieldhouse in recent years.

In 2023, it completed the $65 million Bicentennial Unity Plaza as part of a larger (mostly tax revenue-funded) renovation of the now-25-year-old arena. In 2024, the company debuted the Commission Row property along Delaware Street that features a restaurant, speakeasy and event space.

An affiliate of the Simon family this year also plans to begin construction on a $312 million redevelopment of the former CSX property at 230 S. Pennsylvania St. That property will become a 170-room high-end Shinola Hotel and a 4,000-seat live performance venue operated by Live Nation, featuring an enclosed parking garage and a skybridge connecting to the fieldhouse.

While the Indiana Pacers have had their own dedicated practice facility—the $50 million Ascension St. Vincent Center that opened in 2017—the Fever have their own practice and training facilities in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The team’s current facilities and practice court were renovated in 2020. Those facilities are expected to remain in place after the new complex opens, largely for game-day hospitality activities, PS&E officials said.

The Ascension St. Vincent Center is a five-story, 130,000-square-foot structure connected to the fieldhouse that features two courts, high-tech training and recovery facilities and staff offices.

Mel Raines, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said the continued growth of the WNBA and upward trajectory of the Fever made it imperative for the organization to have a facility of its own. She said the design of the project will also feature a specific focus on serving the needs of female athletes.

“We’re excited about what we’re able to really build from the ground up, to be the best performance center for female athletes, hopefully anywhere in the country and maybe anywhere in the world, to really holistically think about helping them compete at the highest level,” Raines told IBJ.

Several teams across the WNBA have announced plans for dedicated practice facilities, including the Las Vegas Aces (whose facility opened last April), Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury. The Chicago Sky said in July that it would move forward with construction of a team-specific training complex, while the owners of the New York Liberty have made a similar commitment.

Conversations with city leaders about creating a new Fever-specific facility have unfolded over the past several months, dating to before the 2024 season that saw the team make its first playoff appearance since 2016, led by back-to-back WNBA No. 1 draft picks Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston and veteran Kelsey Mitchell.

Last year, the Indiana Sports Corp. announced  its Vision 2050 plan, which includes the goal of making Indianapolis the epicenter of women’s sports. Raines said the new facility—set to break ground in August, shortly after Indianapolis hosts the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend on July 18-19—will help further that goal.

“When [we were] looking at the best possible site for this, and upon understanding that the Jail I site was coming down, we approached the mayor’s office with our idea … and what we thought it could potentially look like,” she said. Hogsett “was very supportive; he’s been a Fever season ticket holder for years, and I think saw the vision of what this could be.”

The facility is expected to be constructed by an affiliate of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. The Capital Improvement Board is expected to own the land on which the structure will be built following a transfer of the property from the city.

The CIB, as it did for the Pacers and Indianapolis Colts training facilities, will have an operating agreement with the PS&E affiliate that will allow the facility to be donated to the public body at the conclusion of the agreement term, details for which have not been finalized. The jail property is now being torn down, with that work expected to continue through July.

Spurred by interest in Clark, the Fever saw home attendance explode from an average of 4,067 in 2023 to 17,036 in 2024. League-wide attendance jumped 48% with games featuring Clark driving most of that increase.

“Last year, we experienced an unprecedented boom in interest and attention on women’s sports around the world, led in large part by our very own Indiana Fever,” Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said. “Indianapolis is proud to see this significant investment from Pacers Sports & Entertainment drive further momentum in women’s basketball in our community and continue to elevate our status as a major league sports city.”

The eastern portion of the jail property is not part of the project and is expected to be held by the city as part of the Hogsett administration’s continued efforts to secure a Major League Soccer franchise.

The city has already been working with a Simon affiliate, 101 S. Alabama Development LLC, to acquire the Presidential Park lot at 301 W. Washington St., just west of the Julia M. Carson Transit Center, as part of its ongoing efforts to further redevelop the area surrounding the jail—either in connection with soccer or separately.

The Simon family affiliate since last April has acquired that site as well as two other properties that are thought to be integral to the city’s soccer push, although city officials have remained mum on whether the family is involved in the effort, while a representative for the family has said its interest in certain parcels “predates soccer.”

The city intends to hold onto the other 1-acre portion of the jail site as part of its push forward for development in the Market East Cultural District—including efforts related to Major League Soccer.

“We’re going to continue to move forward to try to land a soccer-specific stadium across the street from the eastern half, so that side of the jail parcel will play an active role in that planning and discussions,” said Dan Parker, chief deputy mayor for the city. “No decision [has been] made on that.”

The Fever project is expected to require approval from the Regional Center Hearing Examiner, said Parker. That process will likely occur in conjunction with the continued demolition of the jail, allowing the Simon company to move ahead with construction as soon as the site has been cleared.

Correction: This story has been updated to remove a reference to Ascension St. Vincent operations in the Pacers practice facility. Also, the location has been updated to reflect that the building will be at the corner of Delaware and Maryland streets. You can see more IBJ corrections here.