INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The owner of a building on a proposed Major League Soccer stadium refused to sell when it won a bid.
Lena Hackett, who owns the building at 10 S. New Jersey St. et, says she probably wouldn’t sell her building after receiving an offer from Cushman’s Bo Leffel.
As announced Thursday through the mayor of Indianapolis, the proposed football stadium would be at 355 E. This site is east and northeast of the Virginia Avenue parking lot, connected to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, in downtown Indianapolis. It is also close to the Old Marion County Jail and city-county building.
The Metropolitan Development Commission will meet Wednesday at 1 p. m. in the public assembly hall of the city-county building. During this assembly, the organization will talk about the transformation of the Pearl Street field into a professional sports progression zone. through Indiana law, it would capture taxpayer money from that domain to fund the stadium.
Hackett’s construction has been indexed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986.
Marsh Davis, president of Indiana Landmarks, describes the designation as “honorary” in nature, meaning protections are limited for locations indexed in the national register. Davis says Hackett would be allowed to demolish the building with his own money, but if it were to be sold and demolished for a federal grant, it would trigger a review process.
The mayor told News 8 that an ownership organization already exists for an MLS expansion team. Public money would go to the new football stadium, but the owning organisation would pay the high prices for the expansion.
“We’re not building two football stadiums. We’re just going to build one,” Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett told News 8’s Scott Sander on “Daybreak” on Friday. “But the direction you take depends a lot on what MLS is. “wait, what the owning organization should be involved in. We strive to provide MLS with as many opportunities as possible.
As for the future of Eleven Park, Hogsett has entrusted that task to Ersal Ozdemir, the owner of the team and the park.
“It’s totally up to my friend Ersal Ozdemir (owner of Keystone Group and Indy Eleven). We’re committed to building a specific football stadium,” Hogsett said Friday on “Daybreak. “”What we’re doing is focusing on bringing a third-grade franchise to Indianapolis. We deserve and want an MLS franchise.
The city has already created the Professional Sports Development Zone for Eleven Park, a 20,000-seat multi-use stadium under construction. Along the bank of the White River, between West Washington Street and Kentucky Avenue, the Eleven Park assignment will create the stadium; more than six hundred apartments; 205,000 square feet; more than 197,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space; a hotel; public squares with green areas; and public car parks.
Construction of Eleven Park is underway on land formerly owned by The Diamond Chain Co. along the east bank of the White River between West Washington Street and Kentucky Avenue.
Ozdemir sat down with News 8’s Phil Sanchez on Monday. He said he sought out Eleven Park for training.
“We have worked effectively with the management and I have a smart relationship with the management and the mayor, but I didn’t expect the announcement when it came; Again, the mayor is a friend. I’m glad to go in a room to find a way to build Eleven Park,” Ozdemir said.
City council members have expressed fears that Eleven Park will simply fail.
Councilmember Kristin Jones is a Democrat and represents District 18, where the park will be located. He issued a letter when the mayor announced that the city would be looking for an MLS team.
“Nearly a year ago, I stood with District 18 families, business and networking leaders, and our city and state leaders as we began building Indy Eleven Park. It’s a beautiful day filled with hope and opportunity for an underutilized component of downtown White River. Knowing that the vision of a mixed-use area and a football stadium with a capacity of 20,000 people would become a reality after ten years of investment, advocacy and public participation is a dream come true.
Today, while on the one hand I’m pleased that Indianapolis remains a vital market for professional sports, I’m disappointed that the resolution adopted in defiance of the hard work, investment, and law that my City Council colleagues and state legislators had already passed bipartisan for the former Diamond Chain site on the river. I hope that the originally approved site will continue to be used for any specific football stadium.
Councilmember Kristin Jones, D-Calif.
Council Minority Leader Brian Mowery also issued a statement Thursday expressing concern.
“The news that Hogsett’s management is attempting to walk away from a deal to expand Indy Eleven Park is troubling and has come as a surprise to our group. Management never let us know that this deal was in jeopardy. I need to ensure that Indianapolis is recognized as a city that operates and negotiates transparently and in good faith. We expect management and stakeholders to report further to us as my group and I work with council Democrats to do what is most productive for Marion’s interests. County as a whole.
Council Minority Leader Brian Mowery, Republican
A spokesperson for Mayor Hogsett sent a message to News 8 Tuesday night.
“Over the past few weeks, Indianapolis city officials were contacted through an experienced and reputable sports official who expressed the possibility of an investor organization attempting to make Indianapolis the next city in Major League Soccer. Mayor Hogsett seized the opportunity by traveling to New York City to meet with the commissioner of Major League Soccer and unveil a new PSDA card that will be voted on through the MDC tomorrow. While we are still in the early stages of this vast process, we are excited about the prospect of bringing the world’s premier soccer league to Indianapolis.
A spokesperson for Mayor Joe Hogsett
The Democratic group also shared a message with News 8 after Thursday’s announcement.
The Indianapolis City Council and the County Democratic Caucus will continue to focus on considered community development, especially in communities that have been underutilized for decades. District 18, represented through our colleague Councilmember Kristin Jones, was poised to decorate our city’s streetscape by creating a 20,000-seat use area and football stadium. After ten years of investment, advocacy, and public participation, we recently learned that those plans might not come to fruition.
As the legislative branch of our city/county government, it is our duty to make tough decisions about which proposals are a success and which are not in the most productive interest of our constituents. Right now, our group has more questions than answers about the new stadium proposal. In the future, we hope that management will provide all the elements of the proposal, so that we can take full advantage of the merits of this opportunity.
Creating a first-league soccer team could strengthen our city’s reputation, improve tourism, and revitalize our economy. Currently, there is still a lot of work to be done to understand the implications of this strategy.
With transparency and true collaboration, we will continue to work together with President Jones and the entire City Council as we advocate for all districts and seek opportunities for the creation of smart projects and investments for our city.
Indianapolis City Council and County Democratic Caucus