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A new basketball-themed art installation inside Indianapolis International Airport is one of several displays the facility plans to introduce in the coming weeks to celebrate the city’s role as host of NBA All-Star Weekend.
The regulation court-size vinyl court—50 feet wide by 94 feet long—has been installed on the publicly accessible Civic Plaza and features the NBA All-Star logo at center court and QR codes on the goal posts to help fans access more information about events planned for the All-Star events set for Feb. 16-18.
The $45,121 court project was designed, printed and installed by Indianapolis-based Miles Printing following consultation with the Indiana Pacers, the NBA and the Indianapolis Airport Authority, which paid for the project. The court was designed for looks—not for play—and clear plastic barriers are used on the the rims to thwart anybody who is tempted to take a shot.
a full-length basketball court has been installed in the middle of Indianapolis International Airport to welcome fans to next month's #NBAAllStar2024 🤩
in 49 states it's just basketball, but this is Indiana. pic.twitter.com/ic83Mkf2mf
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 14, 2024
Numerous other graphics and arts installations also are being placed throughout the terminal to welcome visitors, participants and media to Indianapolis for All-Star Weekend, including imagery of Indiana Pacers players and various league superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic in the baggage claim area. Graphics are also expected to be placed within the spaces operated by Million Air and Signature, which process the arrivals and departures of private aircraft.
Through mid-February, the airport also plans to feature live music from local musicians, custom artwork in its KIND Gallery and pop-up shops focused on All-Star merchandise.
Live music offerings will include jazz saxophonist Bryan Thompson, R&B singer Staci McCrackin and Don Burton’s Las Vegas Soul Legends Revue, as part of a lineup curated by Rodney Stepp, an Indianapolis-based music producer who played keyboards in the 1970s for recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee The Spinners. DJs will also be part of the lineup.
The KIND Gallery will feature 17 pieces as part of its “The Art of the Game: Artists at Work” exhibit, all from artists who participated in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse public art project as part of the facility’s $400 million overhaul that was completed last year. The artists include Tasha Beckwith, Israel Solomon, Kyle Ragsdale and Pamela Bliss.
The airport will also feature a new mural in Concourse B from local artist Shaunt’e Lewis, entitled “Love of the Game,” that depicts a colorful, abstract basketball court and a woman’s face.
A six-foot-tall ceramic basketball decorated by a local artist is also expected to be placed in baggage claim.
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Cool but c’mon . . . they couldn’t have allowed some kind of supervised free-throw shooting experience? Nothing more fun than a no-action basketball court. Seems like an idea that overpromises and underdelivers.
I get what you’re saying but think about it for a minute, the lines would be ridiculous just to shoot a free throw let alone to play a game of one on one. This is just for art only and to make a statement.
Mountains out of molehills.
At least put a few pop-a-shots up. Otherwise this is just dumb.