Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe indoor basketball and volleyball facility at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield has a new naming sponsor.
Pacers Sports & Entertainment announced Thursday that it had acquired the naming rights to what was formerly known as the Jonathan Byrd’s Fieldhouse.
Under the multiyear deal, the $10 million facility, which has eight hardwood courts for basketball and volleyball, will be called the Pacers Athletic Center.
The facility is owned by Klipsch-Card Group—the same group developing the Finch Creek Fieldhouse in Noblesville.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Klipsch-Card Group co-founder Andy Card said it is an eight-year deal with an option to continue beyond that.
In addition to the naming rights, the arena will also become home to the Jr. NBA Pacers. In June, the facility will host one of eight U.S. Jr. NBA Regional Championships. The Jr. NBA tournament is for boys and girls teams ages 14 and under from around the world.
“Earlier this year we introduced ‘We Grow Basketball Here’ which is all about celebrating Indiana’s game and promoting growth of the sport wherever possible,” Pacers Sports & Entertainment President Rick Fuson said in a prepared statement. “Branding the fieldhouse at Grand Park as Pacers Athletic Center is a natural extension to help achieve this mission. It also underscores our commitment to youth basketball.”
Jonathan Byrd’s, which had agreed to a 10-year deal in July 2015 for the naming rights and concession stand and food court management at the fieldhouse, pulled away from its big role at Grand Park at the beginning of 2017.
Its name remained on the fieldhouse, but Klipsch-Card Group replaced the food court space with an esports center called Game On earlier this year.
Card said they negotiated a new deal with Jonathan Byrd’s about a year ago that kept the naming rights the same until a new sponsor was secured.
Card said that as Jonathan Byrd’s stopped doing business in other areas of the park, like the Grand Park Events Center, “it didn’t make sense for them to continue to have naming rights.”
“It just didn’t work out,” Card said. “We agreed to a new structured deal, and they’ve lived up to it.”
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.