Eleven Park at Grand Park

In May 2023, Indy Eleven had an official groundbreaking ceremony on the Eleven Park site, formerly the Diamond Chain factory, with a stated goal of having the stadium open in time for the women's USL Super League team to start their inaugural season in the league in August 2025. At the time, I thought it was optimistic for them to meet that goal given that I knew from colleagues in my business that the stadium was still under design. I had no idea that nearly 900 days later, there wouldn't be a stadium and because there was no stadium, there wouldn't be a USL Super League team. Since my article in June 2023 talking about the groundbreaking, I've written 7 other articles talking either about the stadium, or more specifically, the lack of a stadium. Admittedly, one of those was poking fun at the easter egg items in the renderings for the stadium, but all the others discussed the lack of progress on the stadium that hasn't occurred after the Mayor of Indianapolis railroaded the team's plan for the Professional Sports Development Area and took it over for himself as he attempts to get a MLS team to Indy including one article last year around this exact same time discussing the Henry Street Bridge plan versus Indy's lack of plan. To date, that has been an unsuccessful task for the Mayor, but the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission did recently vote to allow the City to purchase the downtown heliport, long suspected to be the preferred City location for an MLS stadium, and there have been other steps to prepare for a team that likely may never come, such as the Capital Improvement Board issuing a Request for Proposal in July related to the construction of the proposed stadium.

Since my article last year, there hasn't been a single announcement from Indy Eleven about their plan for Eleven Park, if there even is a plan for Eleven Park. In the sarcastic words of Roz, "you're stunned silence is very reassuring." 

So if there isn't a plan for the land at the Diamond Chain/Greenlawn Cemetery site, and all indications (none) would imply that that there isn't a plan for the site, but if we assume that a plan does exist for the team to continue working towards having its own stadium, then where will it be located? Arguments could be made for the Sand Street location and I have even taken a fresh look at what could be done at the Carroll Stadium site. Carroll Stadium is obviously still owned by Indiana University so that doesn't make it an ideal location if you're trying to control the scheduling, financing, and the income of the stadium. When Indy Eleven needed a place to start their life as a new club, Carroll Stadium was a good choice, and I wrote a tribute to the stadium in 2018 when the club transitioned from the NASL to the USL and from Carroll Stadium to Lucas Oil Stadium. Back then though, the 2012 IUPUI Master Plan had the grandstand of the stadium being removed:

"To create visual connectivity to the riverfront park, it is recommended that the Michael A. Carroll Stadium grand stands be removed. The track will remain and be improved as part of the active recreational portion of the park."

Indy Eleven saved the grand stand of Carroll Stadium. They made it better. The team transitioned to a much "better" stadium for a bit when they played in Lucas Oil Stadium, but then returned to the spiritual home of the team. The spiritual home of the team, though, is starting to feel like a final resting place instead of a home, and the long-time fans want to see the stadium promise come true.  

At one point, it might have been logistically possible for Ersal and the team to purchase the stadium from IU, but that no longer seems to be a potential. There was a follow-up study to the 2012 Master Plan and then a 2020 update to the Master Plan that viewed the stadium in a different light. Admittedly, the update occurred during the period when Indy was playing in Lucas Oil Stadium, so now that Indy is back in Carroll, there might be yet another update to the Master Plan in the works. However, the language from the 2020 Master Plan updated indicated (emphasis mine):

"A follow-up 2019 study identified the needs of the campus, as well as the needs of the Indianapolis amateur sports community which are lacking on campus and in the community. A flexible, multi-sport fieldhouse which could accommodate competition basketball, hockey, and gymnastics, as well as other sports was proposed south of the Herron School of Art and Design. [editor: this is currently in construction] The location reinforces the Sports District along the White River and offers great community access. 

The 2019 study also identified the need to improve Carroll Stadium with amenities, support spaces, and improved service. The study also identified the opportunity to develop an improved image and access to the stadium from the White River Trail which could flip the “front door” of the stadium towards the river and the trail. A new event plaza is proposed which can be used before events at the stadium and used as a space for the community who are using the trail."

While improved amenities, support spaces, and service would all be welcome additions for fans who have been using the facility the past 12 Indy Eleven seasons, this doesn't get Ersal and the team any closer to having their own stadium where they have more control over it. As I look at it though, a yet again reimagined look to the stadium could fit well in the existing space, particularly if you think about something that I mentioned a few years ago talking about my journey into watching the Scottish Professional Soccer League.

Tynecastle Park - Google Earth 3D Rendering

Tynecastle Park. 

For those that don't know, Tynecastle Park is the stadium where the Heart of Midlothian play their home games.

Let me back up one more step. Heart of Midlothian is a club that plays in the top level of the Scottish Professional League and are currently sitting at the top of the table above even Rangers or Celtic. 

Okay, back to Tynecastle Park. When I asked Nicky Law and Nick Ross about some of their favorite Scottish stadiums, they both, independently from each other, listed Tynecastle as one of their favorites. Sean McAuley spent 1992 - 1995 in St. Johnstone in the SPFL and he told me that Tynecastle was one of his favorites too ("Good history and I always played well there!!!"). Tynecastle has a capacity of approximately 20,000, with a length of 98 m (107.2 yd) and a width of 68 m (74.4 yd). Check out these couple of videos (the 2nd one is a lot of talking, so depending on your level of focus, you might want to skim through it).

Rough Sketch of Tynecastle at Carroll Stadium Location

https://youtu.be/O1-Zh-o1YKE?si=DOjgRknWLJsIUa29
https://youtu.be/bnyNuvvfPFY?si=A700kcdE_O0BaYNS

Why am I talking about Tynecastle Park so much? Because I think it would fit nicely in the space of what is available at Carroll Stadium. The boxy nature, and some of the other Scottish football stadiums for that matter, make that style of stadium a good fit in a location like Carroll Stadium, because there isn't a lot of extra building extending out where not necessary. I would love to see this kind of stadium for Indy Eleven, but then I've already said that before in my journey into the SFPL article.

Which is all leading up to my current thought for an Indy Eleven stadium. You saw the name of the article, so I'm sure you saw where this was going.

Grand Park. 

Or more specifically now, Droplight Grand Park Sports Campus, as it was announced this past week that Grand Park Sports & Entertainment had entered into a naming rights partnership with Droplight. Whatever you want to call it, I've come around to the idea that it's the right place for Indy Eleven to call home moving forward. 

Earlier this year, Grand Park released a Master Plan that included a massive expansion of the facilities. An expansion around the campus that includes parking garages, housing, offices, a park with a ferris wheel, an indoor ice arena, and most notably as it relates to this article, a 10,000-seat multi-purpose stadium. 

A 10,000-seat multi-purpose stadium that would be located at the intersection of 186th Street and Grand Park Boulevard, that would be "visible from the eastern approach along E 186th Street, [that] announces your arrival at the Grand Park District." Just north of the stadium, Ed Carpenter Racing has already agreed to build a new "76,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility for all racing operations, engineering, and technical development." Part of that project also includes a new City-funded parking garage to replace the parking lots that are intended to go away with the Master Plan expansion plans. As a sidenote, I do wonder what that will do for the frequent RVs that are parked in the lots that families use when they are participating in events at the facility. 

My suggestion is to forego the 10,000-seat stadium, but rather build a 15,000-seat stadium to serve as Indy Eleven's new permanent home that would allow them to meet the standards to be part of the USL First Division league when it officially starts in 2028. First Division clubs in the United States are required to have 15,000 seats to qualify for First Division status. 

Many people will say, and have said when I floated this idea on X, that if Indy made that move, they would no longer go to games. I'm sorry, but this now makes the most sense to me. Whatever kind of relationship Ersal thought that he had with the previous and current Mayors of Indianapolis was flipped on its head when the current Mayor, Mayor Hogsett, took over the PSDA that was created specifically with Indy Eleven in mind. The current pissing match of egos likely means neither wants to back down, but it could be at the detriment of Indy Eleven if Ersal doesn't reconsider the path that he and the team have been taking since the days when Peter Wilt suggested a stadium before the team had ever played a single game. It has always been stated that the stadium was going to be in Indianapolis. That can be the path until it isn't.

Would Peter Wilt, the man who had learned from his Chicago days that a stadium in the suburb could be problematic and engrained that lesson into Ersal, agree with me? I didn't ask him, but this isn't Peter's team any longer. This club feels like it's floundering to find its footing of who it wants to be, and maybe that means moving to Westfield and Grand Park to reestablish themselves.

Why does this make sense to me?

Because they're already there.

"The City of Westfield is pleased to announce a transformative long-term collaboration with multiple partners, including Indianapolis-based Keystone Group, Indy Sports & Entertainment, Indy Eleven, and Bullpen Ventures, solidifying a landmark public-private partnership. 

... 

Grand Park and Indy Eleven have long-established relationships, with the multipurpose sports campus serving as the Indy Eleven’s Official Training Center. Indy Sports & Entertainment intends to build a new world-class training facility at Grand Park that will become the official training home of the Indy Eleven and the new women’s professional team that will play in the Super League.

... 

The City of Westfield will retain ownership of Grand Park, with the terms of the partnership outlining Grand Park Sports & Entertainment’s commitment to the development and management of the campus for up to forty years, valued at 300 million dollars to the City of Westfield.

This collaboration symbolizes a strategic convergence between public and private entities, poised to propel Grand Park into a new era of excellence, growth, and community engagement."

The only thing that has been in Indianapolis for Indy Eleven is 1) their official HQ where the majority of the front office staff resides, 2) the men's first team playing at Carroll Stadium, 3) an empty Diamond Chain lot that will likely be too cost prohibitive to ever build what they wanted to build in Eleven Park, and 3) a Mayor who no longer cares about the potential $1B in investment that was going to go into the Eleven Park campus. The remainder of the Indy Eleven enterprise happens within Grand Park, including now having the owner's other company collaborating on the development and management of the campus. Everything that they had envisioned doing with Eleven Park is incorporated into the Grand Park Master Plan.

To me, the question isn't why should Indy move to Westfield and Grand Park, the question is why shouldn't they? Putting the stadium at Grand Park consolidates everybody into a single location from men's first team to women's team(s), to the Academy, and training facilities. If you want to go to an Indy Eleven game, regardless of who it is playing, you go to one place.

Will they lose some of the fans from south side of Indianapolis? Probably. Could they pick up more fans from north of Indy? Probably.

The counties of Hamilton (where Grand Park is located) and Boone and Madison (the two adjacent counties) account for a 2020 census population of approximately 550,000 people. The similarly located counties south of Indianapolis and Marion County (Morgan, Johnson, and Shelby) account for approximately 279,000 people. Just in a sheer numbers game, catering to the northern fans makes sense. When I asked the Indy front office if they would share with me heat map numbers of season ticket holders based on zip codes, I was, not surprisingly, told they wouldn't share that information with me. They did say, however, "I can at least provide top-line feedback that we do draw very well from North of the City especially and that base is continuing to grow."

Placing a stadium in that base is only going to help.

The excavation for the Henry Street bridge project recently completed its "Archaeologist-led excavation, rather than Contractor-led excavation" and uncovered more than 1,700 grave shafts. ("Grave Shaft: A burial area consisting of a rectangular pit with vertical sides; also known as a grave, a grave shaft can contain one, multiple, or no human remains within it."). The excavation also unearthed some of the concrete supports for the Federal League Park baseball stadium from 1914 (yes, the site was also used for a baseball stadium more than a century ago), so it seems realistic that the Eleven Park site could also be littered with building supports in addition to the unknown quantity of human remains that are likely more extensive than previously suspected since the Henry Street project had almost 3 times the amount that was originally anticipated to be expected. The cost to excavate the approximately 18-acre site to find every human remain would be astronomical and beyond what Ersal and Indy Eleven are capable or willing to do. 

There's an obvious level of irony that it's a cemetery that has caused the death of a development project, but it doesn't have to be the death of the stadium. The human remains from Greenlawn have been reinterred over the years and there's no reason that the remains of Eleven Park can't be relocated somewhere else too.

To me, the logical new location is Grand Park. I would like it to look like some version of Tynecastle Park. I think that version of a stadium would work nicely at Grand Park.