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The Indy Ignite professional volleyball team will play its first game in franchise history Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd at the new Fishers Event Center.
The Ignite, a member of the Pro Volleyball Federation, announced Tuesday that all 7,500 tickets for the team’s game against the Orlando Valkyries have been sold. Saturday’s game will be broadcast on WRTV-Channel 6.
“That we were able to completely sell out Fishers Event Center four days before our first match is a prime example of the grassroots support behind Indy Ignite and a testament to the fact that Indiana absolutely is a volleyball state,” Indy Ignite President and General Manager Mary Kay Huse said in written remarks.
The Ignite, which will play 28 games this season, is co-owned by founders Jim Schumacher and Don Hutchinson. Schumacher is a principal with Indianapolis-based private equity firm GRE Capital, while Hutchinson is managing director of institutional advisory services at Indianapolis-based Goelzer Investment Management.
The Indy Ignite and Fishers Event Center will host the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation All-Star Match at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 22. The nationally televised contest will be available to watch locally on WTTV-Channel 4.
The Pro Volleyball Federation, which formed in 2022, will have eight teams this season and add expansion teams next year in the Dallas and Kansas City markets. Along with Fishers, the federation’s teams that will play this season are in Atlanta; Columbus, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Las Vegas; Omaha, Nebraska; Orlando, Florida; and San Diego.
Last year, the seven-team Pro Volleyball Federation drew total attendance of 376,920, for an average of 4,487 fans per game. The Omaha Supernovas led the federation with an average of 9,656 fans per game at the 17,560-seat CHI Health Center arena.
The $170 million Fishers Event Center opened in November. The arena is the home of the Indy Fuel minor league hockey team, which has averaged 6,142 fans in nine home games this season. Fishers Event Center has a capacity of 6,500 for hockey and 7,500 for other events.
The Fishers Freight, an expansion team in the Indoor Football League, will begin play at the event center in March.
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Who knows if this is the volleyball league that makes it (there are three pro volleyball leagues at the moment), but given the amount of volleyball played in the area, hopeful that Indianapolis is able to maintain a team.
Fadness Funds will ensure its success
Every ticket was dispensed, no doubt. But this team has no long term future.
Where can I buy a crystal ball like the one you’re using to post your assumption? Pointless to be honest…..
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