Finding bright spots amid wave of bad Indy sports news
So much sad, bad, disturbing sports news. Time to look on the brighter side.
Pacers
Articles
Pacers Foundation keeps giving
The Pacers Foundation Inc. eclipsed more than $700,000 in giving in 2008, according to Pacers Foundation Executive Director Jami Marsh.
Pacers: We’ve lost money 9 of last 10 years
Swamped by financial losses that go back to the time Herb and Mel Simon bought the Indiana Pacers in 1983, team officials
are now looking for a new game plan—one that may involve financial assistance from taxpayers and visitors.
CIB failure isn’t an option
Creativity and transparency are required to fix the Capital Improvement Board’s financial woes.
Indiana b-ball programs back on track
With both the NBA and college basketball seasons under way, Indiana’s two namesake programs are coming back to life in a big
way.
Pacers, Ivy Tech join forces to offer scholarships
The Indiana Pacers and Ivy Tech Community College have teamed to offer six statewide scholarships to Ivy Tech students.
Pacers reforms, new Lucas Oil Stadium, NCAA 2010 tournament boost Indy’s sports reputation
The Pacers opening victory, new game innovations at Conseco Fieldhouse and retaining Danny Granger are bright spots in the
city’s vast sports scene.
Pacers, Clarian Health offer free health screenings
On Oct. 31, the Indiana Pacers announced a partnership with Clarian Health to improve health awareness for area residents.
Pacers cut costs, boost marketing to break even within three years
The Indiana Pacers are ratcheting up sales and marketing initiatives while cutting costs elsewhere in an effort to simultaneously
ride out the economic storm and boost attendance. The team has little hope of being profitable this year-or even breaking
even, said Pacers President Jim Morris, but he added that within three years the franchise’s financial status should be much
improved.
Q&A: Herb Simon takes charge, says family is committed to Pacers
Herb Simon is taking a new hands-on approach
with the Indiana Pacers, which he co-owns with his brother, Melvin. In response to a string of losing seasons and off-court
mishaps involving players, Simon is transforming himself from a behind-the-scenes owner into a visible figure intent on reconnecting
the franchise with the community that once adored it.
Simons won’t discuss succession plans for Pacers ownership
Recently announced changes to the Indiana Pacers’ front office leave questions about the team’s long-term ownership unanswered.
While Larry Bird, Pacers director of basketball operations, is set to take over for CEO Donnie Walsh at season’s end, there
is no indication what succession strategy, if any, exists for replacing team owners Mel Simon, 81, and Herb Simon, 73.
Oprah’s beau advises struggling Pacers on image management
Best-selling author Stedman Graham says professional athletes should think of themselves as “a corporation unto themselves.”
Graham–perhaps best known as television star Oprah Winfrey’s boyfriend–brought that message to the Indiana Pacers during
a three-hour private seminar in late January designed to get the players to rethink the importance of their individual images.
Pacers falls into last place in NBA home attendance
The Indiana Pacers
have hit rock bottom. This month, the team slipped into last place in average home attendance among the 30 National Basketball
Association teams, falling behind the New Orleans Hornets, a team that is selling tickets in an area still ravaged by Hurricane
Katrina.
Players benched for new Pacers ads
The Indiana Pacers recently rolled out a marketing initiative that was in sharp contrast to last year’s campaign, which prominently
featured players and proclaimed, “It’s up to us.” This year’s new television, radio and print advertisements appear with not
a whisper from or mention of anyone actually wearing the blue and gold.
Pacers put no limits on Morris
The fact that Pacers Sports and Entertainment has tapped Jim Morris as special adviser shows how daunting the franchise’s
challenges have become, marketing experts say. They say the team’s problems on and off the court have shrunk its fan base
and weakened support among business and government leaders.
NBA set to OK more revenue sharing
A push from Indiana Pacers co-owner Herb Simon and seven other National Basketball Association owners is spurring league officials
to adopt broader revenue-sharing measures. But those measures might not be enough to pull the Pacers out of the red.
Pacers seek bigger share of NBA revenue
Indiana Pacers co-owner Herb Simon has thrown his support behind an effort to pressure National Basketball Association Commissioner
David Stern to implement more aggressive revenue sharing among NBA franchises.