Fishers Event Center to bring pro sports and concerts to an already booming area

The enduring adage of “success begets success” applies to development near East 116th Street and Interstate 69 in Fishers, where the 8,500-capacity Fishers Event Center is on target to open in November.

The building that will be home to three professional sports teams follows massive furniture retailer Ikea and sports and entertainment venue Topgolf, two attractions that opened in 2017, and the mixed-use Yard at Fishers District that opened in 2019.

Adding an arena in the neighborhood will sustain momentum for suburban Fishers, said Ryan Menard, vice president of development for Indianapolis-based Thompson Thrift Development LLC—project manager for the construction of Fishers Event Center and developer of the Yard at Fishers District.

“This community was hungry for something more in the city of Fishers,” Menard said. “The base was there. People came out in droves to the District, even through COVID, and they’ve continued to shop and dine in this area. It’s nice when you can stay in your community and still have all that you want to do.”

The Indy Fuel, a 10-year-old ice hockey team moving from Indiana Farmers Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, is the anchor tenant of Fishers Event Center. The East Coast Hockey League team plays 36 home games each season.

Jim Hallett owns the Fuel as well as Fishers Freight, a new Indoor Football League team that will play at Fishers Event Center. The building’s third sports tenant is the Indy Ignite, an expansion Pro Volleyball Federation team co-owned by Jim Schumacher and Don Hutchinson.

Hallett, who retired from his role as executive chair of Carmel-based KAR Auction Services Inc.—now known as OpenLane Inc.— in 2023, said he’s not a fan of referring to Fishers Event Center as an “arena.”

“When you think of an arena, you think more of sports,” Hallett said. “This is an event center, and an event center hosts events. We’ve identified more than 50 different types of events we can host in this facility.”

Concerts and community events such as graduation ceremonies will help Fishers Event Center toward its goal of hosting more than 100 events during its first year.

The city of Fishers owns the building, which will be operated by Los Angeles-based facility management company ASM Global.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said he expects the event center to thrive as part of the Crossing at Fishers District, a name assigned by Thompson Thrift as master developer of 63 acres south of Ikea and the Yard at Fishers District.

The Crossing will include Missouri-based Chicken N Pickle, an indoor/outdoor entertainment complex featuring a casual restaurant, sports bar and pickleball courts. Meanwhile, overall expansion plans for Fishers District are highlighted by multifamily residences, luxury apartments, hotel rooms, retail stores, restaurants and office space.

“We have a world-class venue that’s going to be operated well and provide a great experience for people,” Fadness said of Fishers Event Center. “On top of that, we have nearly a half a billion dollars of real estate development being built around it.”

Vantage points

New York-based SCI Architects, a company that worked on renovations of Madison Square Garden in Manhattan and Kia Forum in Los Angeles, designed Fishers Event Center.

The 200,000-square-foot building will feature an open concourse that allows attendees to watch games and concerts while on the way to restrooms or concessions.

“People don’t just want to go and sit in a seat these days,” Hallett said. “They want to be able to stand at tabletops and have a conversation. It’s more social now.”

The design includes 21 suites, with 17 at the top of the arena’s seating bowl and four “bunker suites” closer to the action.

Two bunker suites, featuring 12 to 14 seats each, will be found near center ice on opposite sides of the arena.

Mitch List, general manager of Fishers Event Center, said the bunker concept doesn’t allow views of games while attendees use their suites, but they will have some of the best seats in the house.

“The traditional suite room is under the seating section,” List said. “They have all their amenities down there: private restroom, furniture, bar and all you would expect in a suite environment. Then they take three or four steps up the stairs and their seats are right there.”

Hallett said 16 of the 21 suites have been sold.

Two “group suites,” each featuring seating for 44 people, will be available on an event-by-event basis.

Making music

List is an employee of ASM Global who previously worked as assistant general manager of the 6,500-capacity Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum in Tennessee.

ASM Global formed in 2019, when the venue management affiliate of concert company AEG merged with fellow venue management company SMG.

AEG Presents, also based in Los Angeles, is known for its ownership of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. The Rolling Stones’ 2024 tour is a production of AEG’s Concerts West division, and Indiana rock star John Mellencamp has a long-running affiliation with AEG.

In central Indiana, another L.A. concert company, Live Nation, dominates the landscape as the owner of Ruoff Music Center and the entity that schedules shows at Old National Centre and Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park.

List said it’s logical to predict that more AEG-affiliated artists will perform locally because of Fishers Event Center.

“It’s our intention to work with [AEG Presents] and bring top-level touring shows to the market,” he said.

At the same time, the building won’t be restricted to AEG acts, similar to the way Gainbridge Fieldhouse works with multiple concert promoters.

“Fishers Event Center is an open room,” List said. “We’re willing to work with anybody and find the right shows for the market.”

The building’s concert capacity of 8,500 means Fishers Event Center likely will compete for concert performers with the 8,000-capacity Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Artists such as Erykah Badu, the 1975 and AJR have headlined Indiana Farmers Coliseum in recent years.

Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park can accommodate 6,000 attendees. This summer’s lineup at the outdoor venue includes Lyle Lovett, Vampire Weekend, Lake Street Dive and Bryson Tiller, among dozens of shows.

List said there’s no shortage of musicians who can draw crowds too big for the 2,500-capacity Murat Theatre in Old National Centre but too small for the 24,000-capacity Ruoff Music Center or 18,000-capacity Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

“There’s more artists touring in this size than larger rooms,” he said.

Final details

Fishers Event Center isn’t the only arena under construction in Hamilton County. Noblesville Event Center, a 3,400-seat building that will be home to the G League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers, is expected to open in 2025 east of the Hamilton Town Center retail mall along I-69.

The basketball team known as the Mad Ants moved from Fort Wayne last year. The Mad Ants are in the midst of a two-season stint of using Gainbridge Fieldhouse as the team’s home arena.

The Indy Fuel hockey team plans to play all of its 2024-2025 home games at Fishers Event Center, but the building won’t be ready before the ECHL season opens in late October. The Fuel will launch their season with an extended string of road games, Hallett said.

“We feel that’s not such a bad situation,” he said. “It’s good for the guys to spend that much time on the road together and get to bond as a team.”

For now, the building has the straightforward name of “Fishers Event Center.” Hallett and Fadness said a corporate partner is being sought to purchase naming rights.

“We’re pretty entrepreneurial and pretty forward-leaning,” Fadness said. “We’re looking for any corporation or corporate citizen that wants to be a part of our city and affirms who we are.”

Eighty percent of proceeds from the sale of naming rights will go to the city and be applied to the arena’s $170 million price tag. The remainder will go to the Fuel or be used to cover marketing costs.

Fadness said fees for parking in spaces outside the arena are part of the projected revenue stream for Fishers Event Center. He said the cost of parking and a specific number of available spaces have yet to be determined.

Arrivals by ride-booking services like Uber and Lyft will be welcomed at the building, the mayor said, and he said attendees are expected to use complimentary parking at the Yard at Fishers District, eat a meal at one of the Yard’s restaurants, then walk to the arena for a sporting event or concert.

It’s a scenario that resonates with Hallett.

“Having that infrastructure already in there has been a double bonus,” he said. “You’re going to go to the bars and restaurants prior to the game, maybe have dinner or meet up with your friends. Then you’re going to go to the event. And after the event, you might go back for a nightcap.”•