Located just a short walk from the RCA Dome and Circle Centre, in the city’s historic warehouse district on Pennsylvania and Georgia Streets, the Conseco Fieldhouse will serve as the east anchor to downtown’s entertainment corridor.
Conseco Fieldhouse Facts:
* World's largest crane had to be brought in to install tresses on top of building. Crane was so large it was disassembled before brought in to Conseco Fieldhouse and reassembled on the ground level inside Conseco Fieldhouse.
* Roof is 15 stories high
* 1200 workers to build Conseco Fieldhouse
* Occupy 750,000 square feet between Delaware and Penn. Street
* Facts about basketball hanging in Home Court Team Store
* 18 feet across
* each section is 18’x 9’x 6’.
* ball weighs 3,860 lbs.
* it took 820 man hours to construct
* 6,870 dimples which were hand carved and painted by one man
* makes one revolution per minute and rotates at a 22 degree incline
and is powered by a 1/4 HP motor
* constructed out of steel and wrapped with fiberglass
* Conseco Fieldhouse is the first retro-styled facility in the NBA
* More than 100 points of sale for concessions (only 58 in MSA)
* There are 33 disabled accessible drinking fountains
* All restrooms are fully accessible
* Conseco Fieldhouse has 4 loading docks
* Home Court Team Store has 3 times as large as the one in MSA
* Founder’s Suite Level is 16 rows from Courtside seating
* Main concourse width ranges from 24 to 60 feet at its widest (compared with the
average of 14 at MSA)
* 69 Luxury suites sold and two hospitality suites available for rental
* Over 500 restroom fixtures
* Eight elevators
* 36 payphones
* 3 ATM machines
* TDD Telephones located on all levels
* Seat size – 20 inches in lower/balcony levels, 21 inches in Club Level, 22 in Suites (most seats in MSA were 19 inches)
* 3 first aid offices strategically placed throughout Conseco Fieldhouse
* Box office has 18 ticket windows in entry pavilion
* Entry into Conseco Fieldhouse is from street level through main concourse
* Assisted listening devices available for events as well as sign language interpreters
* Has concierge on staff at all events to assist with guest needs
* $183 million to build
* Basketball floor runs north south with a four-sided video scoreboard suspended above center court
* Has a seating section of retractable bleachers
* Practice facility separate from main floor, pedestrians on Delaware can look down and
see players practicing
* Heating ducts under plazas to melt ice in cold weather for safety of guests
* Enclosed walkway from Virginia Street parking garage
* Escalator from parking garage bridge to entry pavilion
* Size and Material (numbers are approximate)
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* 10,000,000 cubic feet of volume
* 600,000 bricks
* 550,000 blocks
* 1,800 pieces of limestone
* 6,500 linear feet of limestone
* 660 tons of limestone
* 58,000 square feet of glass
* building is approx. 170 feet high
* 7 elevators
* Ground breaking was on July 22, 1997
* Opening night was November 6, 1999 – First Pacers home game in 1999-2000 season.
* Sits on 5.93 acres located between Delaware St. and Penn. at Conseco Court
* Wheelchair seating available at different levels in numerous different price ranges
* Cat walk is approximately 148 feet from the event level (basketball floor).
* There are approximately 8917 lights at Conseco Fieldhouse.
* By the completion of Conseco Fieldhouse, approximately 1,461,359 man hours will have been spent on the project.
* Approximately 300,000 cubic yards of dirt were removed from the construction site.
* It would take a person approximately 5 trips walking around the main concourse to equal a mile.
* There are 4 main stairwells with approximately 1,014 steps.
* There are approx. 1200 steps in various other stairs throughout the building (not including bowl/seating stairs/steps and main stairwells).
* The ice that is used for hockey games takes approx. 8 hours to make. Pipes under the floor are filled with a substance that freezes the floor to approx. 12-15 degrees.
* The public passenger elevators have a 20-25 person capacity.
* The center scoreboard is 30 feet tall.
* When hanging, from the bottom of the center scoreboard to the playing floor is 35 feet (65 feet from the top of the scoreboard to the floor).
* There are 4 digital Mitsubishi screens on the scoreboard. These screens are the latest state-of-the-art technology, and only one other franchise has the same screens.
* The sound system in Conseco Fieldhouse is 1/3 larger than the one in MSA.
* There are 82 stereo amplifiers in the seating area of Conseco Fieldhouse (vs. 33 in
MSA).
* There are 2 stereo amplifiers in each concourse (on each level).
* There will be a scoreboard on the north end and the south end of the Conseco Fieldhouse seating area where scores from other games being played will be displayed.
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| Conseco Fieldhouse Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 10 |
| Concessions | | 8 |
| Scoreboard | | 7 |
| Ushers | | 5 |
| Fan Support | | 7 |
| Location | | 9 |
| Banners/History | | 70 |
| Entertainment | | 7 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 9 |
| Bonus: Bleacher Seating | | 3 |
| Bonus: USRT Red Carpet Treatment | | 4 |
| Bonus: Practice Court | | 2 |
| Total Score |  | 78 |
November 4, 2000 & April 7, 2003 - "In 49 states it's just basketball... but this is Indiana". This mantra which begins the opening video on the scoreboard was enough to give us chills, and so aptly depicts this wonderful building and the terrific heritage that is truly Indiana basketball.
Conseco Fieldhouse opened just a year ago, and is the home to the NBA Indiana Pacers. It replaced
another downtown venue, the Market Square Arena, which was built in the 70s and from what we were told was very cramped and drab.
The City of Indianapolis did not just build a mere arena... they built a fieldhouse, and one would have to say it is The Fieldhouse. It was modeled after Indiana's old high school and college fieldhouses, where SRO crowds are the norm on any given wintry night. The building is cutting edge and at the same time retro - it is state of the art yet nostalgic. In short, it is not only a building to visit, but also to experience.
The facility is located in the city's Wholesale District, which we covered in the Indianapolis Colts report, and has a distinct half-barrel type roof with a red brick and steel exterior. At the top of the building are huge skylights which bathe the arena bowl in natural light during the day and provide a dramatic view of the skyline at night from inside the bowl.
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You walk into the main entry pavilion, and you are instantly mesmerized. There is an old fashioned box office with metal bars on the windows, and high above are b/w retro ad panels and also an old style message board similar to the type you would see at a train station. Just off the pavilion is a coffee shop, a huge (10,000 sf) team store, a bridge to the adjoining ramp, and the Pacers practice court. Yes - practice court. Visitors on practice days can walk into the pavilion and watch the team practice from a glassed in area overhead.... nice!
You walk up the grand staircase, have your ticket checked and now you are in the concourse - wide, bright and spacious. All the concourses are adorned with showcases and many displays of not only Pacers ABA/NBA memorabilia, but also mementos of Indiana college and high school greats. In short, this is a veritable museum to Indiana basketball! There were also huge displays highlighting the Pacers history, from their beginnings as an ABA team to their ABA titles to their merger to their recent successes, all shown through large headline displays recreated from the Indianapolis Star. Other similar displays showcased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indiana's health care. The walls are all done in red brick with wood accents, all the light fixtures are done in an old fashioned retro look, and all ad panels are HAND PAINTED
on the brick facade.
As if that's not enough, there are also false storefronts of a 50's style Main Street, and there is a shoeshine stand (open for business!), a barber shop with a face painter, and an old time TV store, displaying the old RCA Victor console sets. Just incredible!
Of course, the food selection is amazing, with daiquiri bars, all the usual stuff, carved corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, a separate restaurant on the UPPER concourse offering a mid priced buffet, the Varsity Club on the club level with a great view of the pavilion. Points of sale for concessions and merchandise were EVERYWHERE...
The Bowl
The arena bowl is octagon shaped, broken into three levels, and of course, the skylights at the top of the building look out into the skyline. There are no back lit ad boards - all ads are either front lit or neon... at the top of the bowl are hand operated NBA out of town scores. And one section in the clubs is called "the bleachers", and has authentic fieldhouse style bleacher seating - no backs, and numbers stenciled on the benches.
Retired Numbers/Banners
Gratefully, no silly banners. The Pacers just show their ABA titles and their NBA division/conference championships, as well as five Pacers greats. Since this was opening night, they unveiled their 99-00 conference championship banners in a short but very tasteful ceremony.
Summary
If this report sounds like we are gushing, it is because we are. This is our 13th NBA venue, and we seriously doubt that our NBA experience in the rest of the league will be able to top this one. Conseco Fieldhouse should serve as the blueprint for any professional or college team looking to build a new basketball facility. Not part of the grand plan, but we are already eyeballing the 2002 World Basketball Championship for a return visit (with a side trip to Victory Field for some Indians AAA baseball of course!)
PACERS CAN'T AFFORD ARENA MAINTENANCE COSTS
March 12, 2009
Copyright 2009 MediaVentures
Indianapolis, Ind. - The Indiana Pacers are losing about $30 million this season and cannot
continue to shoulder the millions of dollars it costs to operate Conseco Fieldhouse.
That was the announcement to the Capital Improvement Board from CIB Vice President Pat
Early, who has been in discussions with team officials about the financial problems both
organizations face.
Operating Conseco Fieldhouse costs the Pacers roughly $15 million a year. If the team can't
make those payments, it would fall to the CIB, which already is struggling with a budget shortfall of $20 million this year.
That potential $35 million shortfall is driving the CIB to look at a number of options. The board
earlier agreed to cut $1.4 million in grants to arts groups and others. That's on top of $6 million in previous cuts.
Board President Bob Grand said he did not see Early's warning to the board as a capitulation to
the Pacers but as a report from a board member who has been in contact with a key stakeholder.
No action on what to do with the team was proposed or taken. Greg Schenkel, vice president of
Pacers Sports and Entertainment, said only that the team is working with the CIB to find solutions.
Early said the team has told him it has lost money in all but two of the 28 years the Simons have
owned the team.
He said the team has not threatened to leave, but he said there is a good chance it will look to
move or even shut down if the CIB does not assume the operating costs.
"If we are unable to do this, we're really jeopardizing the health of Downtown," Early said.
"It's important that everyone understands the Pacers can't participate any more financially," he
said. "We are going to have to find a solution."
The board discussed another option: the idea of raising the city's hotel and food and beverage taxes.
Board member Craig Huse, owner of St. Elmo Steak House, said the restaurant and hotel
industry wasn't sure it could withstand another 1 percentage point increase, which could raise a
combined $24 million for the CIB.
"Conseco or Lucas Oil going dark is not something anyone wants to see," Huse said. "But at
some point, there has to be a pushback. There seems to be a consensus (in our industry) that we've reached that point."
The state legislature, expected to finish its session in late April, is expected to consider giving the city the authority to raise various taxes. The CIB also has asked the state to consider expanding a professional sports tax district that taxes the income of stadium employees, including athletes.
Early's report on talks with the Pacers overshadowed the board's vote to cut some of the grants
it awards. The board cut 13 percent from cultural tourism, the Arts Council of Indianapolis and
Indiana Black Expo.
Dave Lawrence, vice president of the Arts Council, said he appreciated the difficult situation
facing the CIB but reminded the board that the arts also contribute to the city's vitality, including generating $52 million in taxes.
"As we're talking about the Pacers and how to save Downtown," he said, "we also have to talk
about the arts." (Indianapolis Star)
