skip navigation

Indy Eleven secures downtown location for Eleven Park development

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 06/24/22, 9:31AM EDT

Share

20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium to be centerpiece of $1 billion investment planned to open in 2025

INDIANAPOLIS – Indy Eleven has found its site for Eleven Park, the planned permanent home for the club, with a 20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium targeted to open ahead of the 2025 USL Championship season.

The club announced on Friday, in collaboration with Keystone Group the acquisition of more than 20 acres of land in downtown Indianapolis that will serve as the future home of Eleven Park, a project set to transform the skyline and city of Indianapolis. Alongside the soccer-specific stadium, which will serve as the anchor for the new development, Eleven Park will also include hotel, office, apartments, retail and public spaces.

Eleven Park will be constructed on the plot of land previously owned by The Diamond Chain Company, bordered by West Street, Kentucky Avenue, and the White River – an area that was recently acquired and is now 100 percent owned by Keystone Group.

“We have been working diligently for the last several years to secure a large area of land downtown for Eleven Park, and with our prime location now secured we are eager to take the next steps for this groundbreaking development,” said Indy Eleven Founder and Chairman Ersal Ozdemir, also the Founder and Chairman of Keystone Group. “This village will be a 365-day-a-year live, work, and play community that will transform this section of Indianapolis, providing jobs and significant economic development to downtown Indianapolis and surrounding areas.”

Keystone Group is a construction, development, management, and investments company headquartered in downtown Indianapolis that specializes and invests in complicated transformational mixed-use developments located in premier locations. The Eleven Park stadium will host Indy Eleven games for both its men’s and women’s senior teams. The facility will also be designed to host field sports (soccer, lacrosse, football, rugby, and field hockey) events for partners such as the NCAA and IHSAA; international matches; concerts; and various community events.


Photo courtesy Trevor Ruszkowski / Indy Eleven

“This announcement is the culmination of years of hard work and partnership between countless individuals and entities who believed in our vision, and we are beyond excited to share the results of that effort today with our community,” said Indy Eleven President & CEO Greg Stremlaw. “While there is still more work to do, today the Indy Eleven family is thrilled to put a pin in the map and celebrate what Eleven Park will provide the country’s premier city for sports and all Hoosiers who will experience and benefit from this world-class destination.”

Keystone and Indy Eleven continue ongoing discussions with the City of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana to finalize project terms this year, which would allow for tear down of existing buildings and additional site work to begin in Spring 2023. After approximately two years of construction, Indy Eleven expects to begin play at its new Eleven Park stadium home in Spring 2025.

Due to a myriad of factors, including the rise in construction costs, inflation, and an increase in the scale and scope of the project, Eleven Park is expected to exceed a $1 billion investment in the largest piece of property in an under-developed area of downtown Indianapolis. All facets outside the stadium project – retail, restaurants, hotel, apartments, and office space – will be developed by Keystone Group. As per the State legislation that was passed and signed into law in 2019 , the City of Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board (CIB) would own the Eleven Park stadium, while Indy Eleven would lease and operate the venue.

“We believe this site is the best place to invest knowing it will have a transformational impact to the southside of Indianapolis, serving as a new neighborhood village within the Stadium Village Neighborhood that bridges the central business district, Victory Field, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indiana Convention Center, the White River, and the Elanco campus,” said Ozdemir. “This location, along with the new Henry Street bridge and extension of the Cultural Trail, will serve as an important gateway to the city and bring connectivity and a pedestrian connection to the heart of downtown.”

Indy Eleven and Keystone also announced three key additional partners for the Eleven Park project as part of today’s announcement. Populous, the global industry leader in soccer/multipurpose stadium design, will serve as the stadium project’s lead architecture and design firm, partnering with Indianapolis-based Browning Day Architects. In addition, D3i, a Baltimore-based international design firm with award-winning mixed-use projects that span five continents, has been hired as the master planner for the project.

While the initial design process is already underway, Indy Eleven will meet with fans, community members, and other constituents regarding specific design elements to make Eleven Park a special place to create a vibrant village. Indy Eleven expects to share updated renderings of the Eleven Park stadium with the public in the coming months.

Follow the USL Championship

Most Recent News

Most Read News

Latest Videos