WNBA team Indiana Fever has officially broken ground on its landmark $78 million Indiana Fever Sports Performance Center.
Indiana Fever said the Populous designed 108,000-square-foot, three-story complex is a world-class facility featuring state-of-the-art amenities designed exclusively for female athletes.
Set to open ahead of the 2027 WNBA season the venue will be located in downtown Indianapolis and connect to Gainbridge Fieldhouse via skybridge.
Parent company Pacers Sports & Entertainment said amenities will include premier spaces for performance and conditioning, recovery and rehabilitation, and mental health and wellness along with lifestyle support.
Indiana Fever is an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis (US). The Fever competes in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the 2000 WNBA season. The Gainbridge Fieldhouse serves as their home ground.
The 18,000-capacity Gainbridge Fieldhouse is an indoor arena located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It opened in November 1999. The arena is the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Indiana Fever of the WNBA.
Mel Raines, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said, “We are excited to create a performance center specifically for our elite female players that gives them the resources to thrive on and off the court.
“We are also especially grateful to the city of Indianapolis for its partnership and leadership in helping bring this vision to life.”
The facility will have best-in-class amenities including two regulation-sized courts with natural light, strength and conditioning equipment, yoga and Pilates area, hydration station and full-service kitchen.
To help players recover and recharge, the facility will offer a spa-like retreat with massage, infrared light therapy, sa sauna, steam, heat studios, and multiple hydrotherapy pools. The team will also have a private outdoor courtyard and mental performance spaces.
The center will boast a hair and nail salon, childcare space, and podcast and content production studio.
Kelly Krauskopf, president of the Indiana Fever, said, “What we’re celebrating today is the beginning of something transformational, an exclusive facility built specifically to support our players at every level, both professionally and personally.
“The Indiana Fever have always been proud to call Indianapolis home and as we break ground, we’re building upon our city and organization’s commitment to being a global leader in women’s sports.”
The center will offer exclusive fan experiences in the Hall of Excellence, which will honor the team’s history, and a Fever team store with exciting and unique merchandise opportunities.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said, “Today’s ground-breaking marks the transformation of a piece of prime, downtown real estate into a state-of-the-art facility that will bolster our thriving sports economy and support our talented Indiana Fever players.
“Developments like these are solidifying Indianapolis as a world-class sports city and a true destination for women’s sports.”
Currently, the team’s dedicated practice court and training area, which were renovated in 2020, are located within Gainbridge Fieldhouse and considered among the top facilities in the WNBA.
An affiliate of PS&E is constructing the facility on the west half of the former Marion County Jail site, located at the corner of Delaware and Maryland streets.
The city of Indianapolis made an intergovernmental land transfer to the Capitol Improvement Board of Marion County, which entered into an operating agreement with the PS&E affiliate.
The facility will be donated to the CIB at the conclusion of the term of the operating agreement. The Indiana Pacers and Indianapolis Colts practice facilities are also located on land owned by the CIB.
Construction will be led by Shiel Sexton and the architect of record is Populous, a global design firm known for being at the forefront of innovation and leading the charge in women’s professional sports.
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