Indy Eleven vs Hartford Athletic - 06.03

- Opponent: Hartford Athletic
- Location: Indianapolis
- Attendance: 20,251
- Final Score: 1-0 W
- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Crognale, Barrett (C), Ayoze, Matern, Gibson, King, Enevoldsen, Kelly, Starikov
- Substitutions: Watson 71' (Starikov); Pasher 76' (Matern); Diakhate 90' (Kelly)
- Unused: Farr, Farias, Osmond, Ouimette
- Goals: Own Goal 40' (Lyngo)
- Bookings: Ayoze 58' (Yellow); Gibson 63' (Yellow); Matern 69' (Yellow)
- Referee: Lukasz Szpala
- Adage goals: None

For the first time in Indy Eleven history, the team won their home opener (played to draws in 2014 - 2017 and lost to FCC last year); beating expansion side Hartford Athletics by a score of 1-nil. For the first time in Indy Eleven history, the team surpassed the 20,000 mark for announced attendance; reaching 20,251 fans. For the first time this season, Ayoze took the field and reminded us all why he was last year's team MVP.

For what is hopefully the last time this season, Dane Kelly missed a shot from 3 yards out, sending the low cross from Ayoze over the crossbar. While that is the shot that had Kelly holding his head in his hands and Indy Eleven fans groaning for what could have been, Kelly was a pest for the Hartford defense all night. In addition to the ball that somehow made its way over the crossbar (I think it took a last second hop right before it got to him that affected where it hit his foot), Kelly has done more woodwork this year than a carpenter. Kelly put two more shots off the woodwork, bringing his season total to four. The one off the left post in the 52nd minute was a left-footed blast that hit near the upper 90. The one off the right post in the 89th minute (and his last touch of the game), was a right-footed low screamer that hit a foot off the ground. Kelly is trying everything he can to get the ball in the net, but has been unlucky to date. "I'm a striker so I'm going to get chances. I'm going to score some and I'm going to miss some too. Today's one of those days where I just couldn't find the net." Teams need to be worried about when he finds his rhythm because he is getting chances and sooner or later, he's going to get going and stop being unlucky.

Kelly may be struggling to find the net and other players have been picking up the goal scoring until he rounds into form. For example, Starikov had 3 shots (2 off target, 1 blocked), Enevoldsen had 3 shots (1 on target, 1 off target, 1 blocked), and Ayoze had 2 shots (1 on target and 1 off target) with 7 chances created between them. While none of the Indy Eleven's chances materialized into a goal, the team was helped out in the 40th minute, when Hartford Athletics' Lyngo attempted a chested ball back to his keeper Lissek and inadvertently put the ball into their own goal. It would be easy to say that Indy was lucky with this goal, but the pressure that they were placing on the Hartford defense finally materialized in a goal, just not exactly in the way that they would have planned.

Another sign that Ayoze was back was that he was shown a yellow card in the 58th minute. Ayoze received 6 yellow cards last season, 4 in a stretch of 4 games before figuring out how to deal with the USL refs. Ayoze's yellow card set off a string of yellows shown to Indy Eleven players as Gibson and Matern both were shown yellow cards in the next dozen or so minutes after Ayoze was shown his. Somehow, Hartford finished the game unscathed. USL refs going to USL ref.

Indy came away with a victory and that helped make the largest jump on the table this week. It's difficult to judge the table right now with the way that the USL schedule is being played right now, but it's always nice to see the team in the top half of the table. Their standing won't remain that way for long as they don't play again until April 15th. They also don't play another home game until May 1st, so if there were any new soccer fans created in the 20,000 in attendance, they're going to have to wait a month to get back to LOS to cheer. USL schedule going to USL schedule.

Other Notes

- Walker was shown as being out due to injury. The broadcast indicated it was abdominal. I heard after the game that it was because he had an appendectomy. He was walking around and seemed to be doing well. Hopefully he continues to recover well.

 - I thought the team looked out of sync at times in the first third of the game. Upon watching the replay, I counted at least ten instances of unforced errors and bad decisions. Those were either passes that were ill-advised (without enough pace or into traffic), passes that were different than the receiving player was expecting, or passes to a spot where nobody was located or could reach. Given it's the third game of the season, some of that can be attributed to still learning each other, but I have to wonder too if the adrenaline of playing in front of the home crowd had the guys amped a bit at the beginning. I didn't notice the same sort of mistakes later in the game.

- Early in the game (7th minute), Matern was leading a break with Kelly. While the rest of the stadium began to increase in volume as they hoped to see something materialize from the break, Matern's not exactly the preferred guy to lead that charge. In the end, Matern had to wrestle the ball away from 3 defenders who had converged on him, but did, ultimately, gain a free kick just outside the 18-yard box for his efforts. I would have liked to see him put in an earlier ball over the top to Kelly and let the USL all-time record goal scorer work his magic.

- I had hoped to see it last year during the July 4th match against the Ottawa Fury, but the team was finally able to acquire a full-field sized version of the American flag for display during the National Anthem. With the rendition of the Anthem by Courtney Jurick, it was as cool as I had anticipated it to be. I do know that the flag was borrowed from the Colts, but I don't know if there will be periodic use of the flag this season or if this will be the only time we see it this year.

- Former Indy Eleven player Wojciech Wojcik (aka Woj) entered the game for Hartford in the 74th minute and immediately got into the action by fouling Matt Watson. It's always nice to see former Eleven players continuing to find teams after their time here as Woj was loaned to OKC, then signed to OKC, then spent last year with the Cosmos, before rejoining manager Jimmy Nielsen in Hartford (Nielsen was the coach in OKC when Woj was there). #IndyForever

The Game Beckons Game Ball

As I said last year, I sometimes wish I could give him this award every week, but Ayoze certainly made his presence felt in his first action this year. With Hackshaw playing behind him, Ayoze is freer to make the runs and be a pest offensively without the defensive responsibilities that he had last year. His touch and decision making was right where he left us expecting last year. Glad he's back in the lineup.

Additional Photos (courtesy of Don Thompson Photography)

Indy Eleven vs Charlotte Independence - 06.02

- Opponent: Charlotte Independence
- Location: Charlotte
- Attendance: 1,649
- Final Score: 3-2 W
- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Barrett, Ouimette, King, Walker, Gibson, Watson (C), Enevoldsen, Starikov, Kelly
- Substitutions: Penn 77' (Starikov); Diakhate 82' (Kelly); Farias 89' (Enevoldsen)
- Unused: Farr, Matern, Ilic, Crognale
- Goals: King 12' (assist Walker); Gibson 16'; Enevoldsen 69' (assist Walker)
- Bookings: None
- Referee: Gustavo Solorio
- Adage goals: One

Sometimes you watch a game, see the score, and look at the game statistics and you think, "yeah, that makes sense." Sometimes you watch a game, see the score, and look at the game statistics and you think, "there's a disconnect between all of those." This game is one of the latter.

Indy Eleven scored 3 goals, two of those in the first 16 minutes by King in the 12th minute and Gibson in the 16th minute. The third, which would surprisingly be considered the game winner, found the back of the net in the 69th minute on a rocket from Enevoldsen from a corner kick. After
that, Charlotte scored two goals to make the end of the game much more interesting than it needed to be from an Eleven fan's perspective.

Charlotte held a 62.5% to 37.5% advantage in possession. And yet, even by the standards of the Charlotte broadcast team, Charlotte's possession was substantial but not effective. Charlotte had just three shots on target for all of that possession. However, the managed to put two of those shots in the goal. Evan Newton made his first save for Indy in the 66th minute. Three minutes later, Indy put their third goal on the board. Four minutes later, Charlotte's second shot of the game, found it's way past Newton and breathed life into the Independence. Their possession paid off again in the 83rd minute when IU product Andrew Gutman's header found its way under Newton and trimmed the game down to a single goal differential.

As an Indy Eleven fan, you love the start to the game. You love that multiple guys are finding the back of the net. However, giving up the late clean sheet makes you wonder if all of Charlotte's possession and the 3 back lineup began to wear on Indy, helping set up the two goals.

As I suspected, Coach Rennie stayed with the 3 back lineup, but he moved Ouimette to the center of the field and moved Barrett to the right. Without seeing all of the preseason games, I wonder if Rennie is still trying to determine who can best fill that CB, leadership, role for this team. I suspect he likes Barrett's physicality to the role, but maybe Ouimette is showing to be better at directing the defense. We may see some additional movement at that position until Rennie figures out who he can trust in that role.

As previously mentioned, Charlotte held a 62/38 possession advantage, in essence swapping the possession numbers that Indy held against Saint Louis. For me, much of that difference can be accounted by the fact that Indy nearly doubled their number of long passes between the two games. Indy had 14% long vs Saint Louis and 26% versus Charlotte and that number seems low from the eyeball test. Or maybe it is just exacerbated by the fact that the 82% passing accuracy from the Saint Louis game dropped down to 69% for this game. It felt like Indy routinely did well with quick passes with each other in the defensive third only to watch somebody blast it forward over the midfield in an attempt to get it to Enevoldsen, Starikov, or Kelly. Routinely with limited success.

It's only two games into the season, but Dane Kelly really needs to see a ball go into the goal. In the game against Saint Louis, his penalty kick was saved and he had a header go off the woodwork. Against Charlotte, a nice run of fplay by the Eleven allowed Kelly to unleash a shot from just outside the 18 that also found the woodwork. Fortunately for the Eleven, other guys are scoring goals, but they desperately want to get Kelly going soon.

Indy now has two weeks off before their home opener against former Indy player Wojcik and Hartford Athletics and then another two weeks off before going to play Swope Park.

Other Notes:

- Ayoze was out again this week, this time officially listed in the Injury Report as Questionable with a quad. In his absence, Walker has been taking most (all?) of the corners and set pieces. In a related note, the Eleven have scored four goals in the young season, three of which that were assisted. Walker has all three assists.

- There are some good commentators in the USL and there are some bad commentators. Rakestraw is one of the best. The Charlotte commentators were...not as good. I had to stop the game and come back to it later. Fast forwarded to about where I left off and was met with dead air. A lot of dead air. So much that I wondered if I had turned off my speakers. Greg has said that there's a fine line between providing commentary in a visual medium and that he approaches it differently when he's doing radio. I counted 5 different segments of the game, where the Charlotte commentators were silent for at least 30 seconds. At one point, from 62:35 to 63:38 (a full minute of game time), there was silence. They didn't say a single word. No play-by-play. No color commentary. Just the sounds of the PA announcer and the sparse Charlotte crowd noise. If you don't think Greg Rakestraw is one of the best in the business, I feel sorry for you.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

I think I'm going to give this to Starikov this week. Starikov's header was what started the flurry in front of goal that lead to Gibson's put-back goal. His energy was good and ended up with 4 shots and an 80% passing accuracy.

Indy Eleven vs Saint Louis FC - 06.01

- Opponent: Saint Louis FC
- Location: Saint Louis
- Attendance: ??
- Final Score: 2-1 L
- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Barrett, Ouimette, Penn, Walker, Gibson, Watson (C), Enevoldsen, Ilic, Kelly
- Substitutions: Pasher 73' (Ilic); Starikov 90' (Penn)
- Unused: Farr, Farias, King, Matern, Osmond
- Goals: Hackshaw 61' (assist Walker)
- Bookings: Hackshaw 57' (Yellow); Barrett 64' (Yellow)
- Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
- Adage goals: None

Indy Eleven kicked off the 2019 season on the road against Saint Louis FC with a nice contingent of the "Battleborn Brigade" in tow. If you're going to provide commentary for a match, do a little research and get names correct, including the one for the supporter's section. Just makes you look unprofessional.

As far as the game goes, it looks like Coach Rennie is going to start the year defensively the way that they finished last year, with a 3 back lineup. The first time that Indy played it last season was a late September game versus Tampa Bay, but Coach Rennie indicated at that time that he had wanted to employ that tactic earlier in the season, but the loss of Reiner made it difficult. It looks like he wanted to get an earlier start to using the 3 back system earlier than the 31st game of the season like last year.

The difference between this year and this game was the absence of Ayoze, who was pulled in the 18th minute of the last preseason game against Nashville, but was not listed as "official" injury for this game. However, Indy's MVP for last season didn't even make the roster for the game against Saint Louis, so I'm going to interpret that to mean that he wasn't fit to play. As a result, academy product and Indiana University signee, Josh Penn moved into the starting lineup. I'm not sure why Pasher didn't get the start, but Penn did nothing to make me think he isn't deserving. More on that in a bit. While I think Ayoze's composure and decision making were missed, it was the other side of the field that seemed to be making the bad decisions, not the 18-year old who was in his place. Ouimette, who played more minutes than another other field player from last year's team, made multiple mistakes that created chances or goals. With or without Ayoze, that was not a great game from Ouimette.

With the back 3 of Ouimette, Barrett, and Hackshaw, Coach Rennie employed dual holding midfielders in Walker and Gibson. Both pushed forward at times, but they were there to provide cover for the back three. The aforementioned Penn and Watson were the wingers, while Ilic, Enevoldsen, and Kelly rounded out the midfield and forward roles. Ilic and Enevoldsen routinely tracked back on defense, but Kelly played up top and only had 2 touches in the defensive half. It's interesting to note that spine of the defense for this game was comprised of ex-FC Cincinnati players with Newton, Barrett, Walker, and Gibson.

Indy acquired a lot of offensive firepower in the offseason in Ilic, Enevoldsen, and Kelly. Yet, less than 30 seconds after Kelly missed a penalty kick, defender Hackshaw headed home the resulting corner kick from Walker in the 61st minute. Indy then proceeded to give up goals in the 69th and 76th minutes on scramble plays where they were unable to get the ball cleared from in front of their own goal. Indy often played the short ball out of the back, including one from Hackshaw to Newton that forced him to chip the ball over a defender to get it back to Hackshaw, and those passes created some nervy moments with a high pressing team like Saint Louis. Indy tried to play out of the back last year and so this is clearly something that Coach Rennie wants to do tactically, but the regular season game speed employment of it needs some more work.

The Saint Louis' commentators felt that the result was a fair one, but I think they neglected to remember the chances that Penn created in the 1st half or the Kelly header that slammed into the crossbar early in the 2nd half. Neither team was overly clean, with some wayward passes, heavy touches, and troubles defending. Indy gets a few days to work on their issues before heading to Charlotte for their season opener and then a couple weeks off before their own home opener on March 30th. I'm going to reserve my judgement for this year's use of the 3-4-2-1 lineup for at least a couple more games and until I see it with Ayoze on the field, but I have some concerns from its use against Saint Louis.

Other notes:

- Paddy Barrett picked up a yellow card in the 64th minute on a clumsy challenge. He was also carded in 2 of the 5 preseason matches. He is shown to have received 5 cards last year so either he'll slow down on the cards or Coach Rennie has asked him to fill more of a defensive enforcer role this year.

- In Ayoze's absence, Walker took all of the corners and, I believe, all of the set piece restarts. Ayoze was missed in this aspect of the game as well.

- Coach Rennie utilized only 2 substitutes during this game, bringing on Pasher for Ilic in the 73rd minute and Starikov for Penn in the 80th minute. The remainder of the bench consisted of a back-up goalkeeper, THREE defenders (Farias, King, & Osmond), and Matern, and holding midfielder. Chasing the game, he didn't give himself many fresh legs to try and get an equalizing goal. A game day roster of 6 defenders, 3 holding midfielders, and 2 goalkeepers (11 of 18 players) doesn't give you many offensive options, but also doesn't seem out of the norm for Coach Rennie.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

As I said on Twitter, Penn "is 18 yrs old & playing in his 1st match with a professional squad on opening weekend as a starter. Adrenaline had to be thru the roof. Impressed he was able to contain it." Yet, he was the bright spot for me. He pushed forward, attacked players one-on-one, had 1/4 of the team's crosses, and created 2 chances. For a player that I assumed was signed for depth, he made a great "professional" debut. If he can continue this type of play, the Eleven are going to miss him when he leaves mid-year to enter Indiana University.

A review of the Indy Eleven stadium financials

Rendering of Eleven Park

Let me start by saying that I want the Indy Eleven to have their own stadium. I'm an Indy Eleven fan and have been a season ticket holder from the start. That's my connection to this team before I was an official part of the grassroots media. So I've discussed the stadium significantly over the past 5 years, most recently giving my first opinions on the latest proposal. At that point, there wasn't an official bill in the Indiana Legislature for the Professional Sports Development Area and the financials of the proposal hadn't been seen. Now, there's a bill (SB 543), another bill that may get the details of SB 543 wrapped into it (SB 7), and an Appropriations Committee meeting for SB 7 that was used to discuss the details of SB 543.

At that meeting, which coincided with the Eleven's "Show Your Love" event at the Statehouse, Senator Sandlin (who originally authored the bill) discussed the bill and it's potential to receive its own evaluation in the Appropriations Committee or be included in SB 7 (which was authored by Senator Mischler, who is also the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee). Since Sen. Sandlin authored the bill, 8 more Senators have been added to the "Authored" or "Co-Authored" lists, including three that are on the Appropriations Committee.

A lobbyist and Ersal also presented to the Committee and presented their case, which included a financial packet that was given to each member of the Committee. I have been able to obtain a copy of the packet and have reviewed it.

Again, I'm an Indy Eleven fan, season ticket holder, and a long-time member of the grassroots media. All sides of me that want to see the Eleven in their own stadium.

Carroll Stadium, for all its painful charm and having the Eleven as the primary tenant, was always going to be a track-and-field stadium that held soccer games rather than a soccer stadium that held track-and-field events. It was designed for a specific purpose and that was not soccer.

Lucas Oil Stadium, regardless of whether people want to describe it as a "multipurpose stadium," is a Colts facility that others are allowed to use when the Colts don't want it. From Section 5.6 of the 2005 Lease Agreement between the Capital Improvement Board (CIB) and the Indianapolis Colts:

"Due to Club's significantly favorable economic impact on Indianapolis and the State, (i) the parties acknowledge that Club shall be considered the prime and preferential tenant of the Stadium, and (ii) CIB shall cooperate with Club and the NFL to maximize the scheduling flexibility of the Stadium to the Club."

Hence, football lines on a soccer field regardless of the time of year for this upcoming Indy Eleven season.

Rendering of Eleven Park

After my review of the packet presented to the Appropriations Committee, this does seem like the team's best presentation of a public-private partnership. A couple years ago, the team proposed to use one of Mr. Ozdemir's hotels (the one on Illinois Street) as a backstop for the state financing of the stadium. This iteration takes that concept and magnifies it. Instead of just one hotel serving as the backstop, a $450M development is serving as the backstop with multiple different types of uses built into that development. The success or failure of one hotel has now been replaced with the success or failure of a 200 room hotel, a 600 unit apartment building, 150,000 sf of office space, 100,000 sf of retail space, and public garages.

That's a much larger backstop.

Additionally, instead of one millionaire helping fund that backstop, Mr. Ozdemir has brought on 7 other successful businessmen from the area:

• Brian Bauer, President of Indiana University Health Fort Wayne
• Don Gottwald, COO and Chief Strategy Officer for KAR Auction Services, Inc.
• Shane Hageman, President of Hageman Group
• Jeffrey Laborsky, President and CEO of Heritage Environmental Services
• Fred Merritt, President of LFM Investments, Inc.
• Quinn Ricker, President and CEO of Ricker Oil Company
• Chris Traylor, Co-President of Traylor Bros., Inc.

That's a much more effective backstop.

After that, the stadium, which is proposed to be the "public" part of the public-private partnership (P3), will be owned by the CIB and leased by the Indy Eleven. This is exactly like the way that Lucas Oil Stadium is handled for the Colts, exactly the way that Bankers Life Fieldhouse is handled for the Pacers, and exactly the way that Victory Field is handled for the Indians. The Eleven are proposing that the taxes generated within the PSDA, which will include the private development, will be used to pay for the stadium. That's how they get to the "not asking for any tax money" from the government. It could be argued that the taxes generated by a new development could be used to fund schools, infrastructure, etc., but the team indicated during the Appropriations Committee meeting that they intend to use land that is currently not generating any taxes for the State/City. So they're not "taking" anything from the existing public coffers. They're building something new in that land and asking to use the money generated from that land to pay for a large public asset. 

It may be semantics, but combined with the two backstops, it might be enough to make this a realistic path for the Indiana Legislature. I think this might actually make it out of the Appropriations Committee and back onto the Senate and House floors for debate and potential resolution. Whether it makes it out of there is debatable. 

All that being said, my review of the "Analysis of Potential Available Revenues for Development" lists some assumptions that I have to question, as well as some interesting sidenotes. Let's start with the sidenotes. Emphasis mine.

Under the Tax Rate Assumptions for Food & Beverage Tax, "In 2005, the rate was increased one percent (1%) to two percent (2%). However, the additional one percent (1%) expires in by January 1, 2041 and was pledged to the payment of the debt issues for the LOS." Under the section about the Innkeepers Tax, "In 2005, the innkeepers tax rate was increased by three percent (3%) to nine percent (9%) to pay a portion of the debt obligations issued for the LOS. ... Per legislation, beginning in 2028 through 2040, the one percent (1%) increase in 1997, along with the three percent (3%) increase in 2005, were pledged to the payment of the debt issued for the LOS."

See a theme? It doesn't say anything about Bankers Life Fieldhouse or Victory Field, but Lucas Oil Stadium is forcing all kinds of reduced assumptions for the Eleven's analysis. "Through no fault of the Indy Eleven..."

I tweeted earlier this week that one of their assumptions for Admission Tax into the new stadium included:

• Indy Eleven - 19 games - 18,553 average attendance
• Pro Women's Team - 10 games - 4,500 average attendance
• Other Soccer - 3 games - 19,000 average attendance
• Concerts - 5 concerts - 14,000 average attendance
• Other Events - 10 events - 5,000 average attendance 

The main point of that tweet was a validation that there was an assumption of a professional women's team, which I had mentioned a couple weeks before as a potential use of a stadium. It was good to know that a women's team is still under consideration, particularly since Mr. Ozdemir's investment in the Indy Eleven NPSL team lasted just one season.

However, I question the average attendance numbers, which are the foundation for which all of the other revenue from the stadium are built. The Eleven and their financial advisors are assuming that for the life of the loan, the average attendance at an Indy Eleven game will be 93% full in a 20k person stadium. Given that the team have played 62 home games and have sold out just 18 of them, 14 of which came in the first season, it seems a bit of stretch to assume that high of an attendance for the life of the loan, even with a new stadium. Additionally, it would require an 82% increase in attendance over this past year's numbers, which had a significant bump from the outlier attendance of the first game in Lucas Oil Stadium against FC Cincinnati, or a 96% increase in attendance over the team's average to date for all seasons. Maybe this year's attendance numbers at Lucas Oil Stadium, with significantly fewer Wednesday games, will change my mind, but it seems like a stretch to assume that high of a value. Particularly when a world-class facility like LOS managed to average just over 10,000 this past year.

Moving to the "Other Soccer" events, that's assuming 95% capacity of...what? Men's or Women's National Team games? International friendlies? I'm not sure that I can fathom Indy getting 3 of those types of games every year for the life of the loan or that those games would consistently bring in a full capacity crowd. The USMNT game's this year, in significantly better climates than Indy, averaged just over 11,000 fans. 

It's going to take a bit more digesting of the other pieces for me to determine if I'm on board with their financial assumptions or the affect of what I would consider more reasonable attendance values, but I'm not sure what else the team can do to make a P3 more attractive to the Legislature. If this effort fails this year, I hope the team has some kind of Plan B for a stadium (modular) that is entirely privately funded. I have not been able to get anybody with the team to give me any hints on that though.

Thursday, the Appropriations Committee will discuss and vote on SB 7, so we may know by the end of the week if the latest Indy Eleven stadium proposal is dead, on life-support, or potentially making a miraculous recovery.

Indy Eleven vs Butler

The offseason came to a close tonight as the Indy Eleven took on Butler University at Grand Park. Much like them easing into the regular season, my recap of the evening is going to be similar as I ease back into writing recaps as well.

"Mr. Indy" in the house!

Grand Park's indoor facility is absolutely massive and is a reasonable place to play games when the outdoor temperatures are in the teens. The game was played on the east field, while the center field was inhabited by a home show, which was unfortunate as the center field has more, and better, seating designed for watching a game in the venue. As a result, the large contingent of season ticket holders that took advantage of attending the game exceeded the amount of available seats. That, in and of itself, isn't necessarily a problem, but seeing the entire field of play isn't the easiest during the best of conditions. Add in a couple rows of people standing on the rail and it became nearly impossible to see some of the action.
One of those on the rail? None other than "Mr. Indy" himself, Don Smart, who was on his way to Madison to join Peter Wilt and Forward Madison FC, but stopped to cheer on fellow Jamaican Dane Kelly. One more item not specifically related to the play on the field, I was introduced to new CEO Greg Stremlaw and he seems like a good guy. We'll have to see if that translates to his CEO (and GM) duties, but he was personable and was engaged in the game.

With that out of the way, the team looked about what you would expect for the first preseason game only a couple weeks after players arrived in town. In fact, not all of the signings are in town yet as recent additions Thomas Enevoldsen and Lucas Farias have not yet joined the team. Additionally, goalkeeper Evan Newton and Tyler Gibson were the only signed players to not see any minutes tonight as last year's returnee, Jordan Farr, held down the shot stopper role for all 90 minutes. There were only two players that played more than a half worth of minutes, Farr and Trialist #5. Turns out Trialist #5 is the only player to make it out of the team's open try-out and it looks like Coach Rennie is going to give him plenty of live minutes to determine if he will be added to the team. Given what I saw out of Trialist #5, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a late spot to the roster.

Trialists received plenty of playing opportunities tonight as 5 of them were in the starting lineup and 5 (I think) were shuffled in and out during the 2nd half. The most notable to me was Trialist #3, who started in the defensive mid role in the 1st half and who I was able to determine from conversations may have been Bennett Kim, who played for Butler University. I also feel like I saw him playing for the Indy Eleven NPSL team, but I could definitely be mistaken on that. I could just remember him from the times the Eleven have played Butler over the years.

Related to that, despite not having been together for very long, the Eleven were much more effective against Butler than I remember them being in the past. Butler has a very good soccer program and some very big and talented guys, but the Eleven controlled the game and spent most of the time in the offensive half of the field. The Eleven were setup in what looked like a 4-4-2 to start, but seemed to quickly morph into a 3-5-2 when the team went forward. In the 2nd half, the team pushed even further forward and it transitioned to a 2-5-3 for portions as Butler struggled to produce much offense. With the exception of a chance early in the 2nd half that Farr had to save off the line after a ricochet off the post, Butler never really threatened the Eleven. I would expect Tuesday's upcoming friendly against FC Cincinnati will provide a much better test of the Eleven's defense. It was notable that Farr seemed to be more vocal during the 1st half than in the 2nd half when Paddy Barrett took over the center back role.

While the teams finished in a 0-0 draw, the Eleven had multiple opportunities on goal, many of them just barely missing. Much like Butler's chance in the early stage of the 2nd half, the Eleven did manage to put the ball into back of the net from a recirculation of a corner kick, but the referee ruled there was a push and Butler was awarded the ball. The other notable chance that I remember was from Dane Kelley in the 2nd half when he rifled a half-volley at Butler's keeper that created such a resounding thud on his gloves that I fully expected him to need to shake out his wrists. It's the kind of shot that despite being right at the keeper, created a rebound opportunity for other players.

Overall, it was a bit choppy, with some unforced errors and guys not being on the same page yet, but it was a good start and showed some glimpses of how the team might play when the season starts.

1st Half Lineup
Farr
Trialist #1
Ouimette
Trialist #2
Trialist #3
Ayoze
Walker
Trialist #4
Starikov - Yellow Card (20-ish minute)
Ilic
Trialist #5

2nd Half Lineup
Farr
Trialist
King
Barrett
Trialist
Pasher
Trialist
Matern
Watson
Trialist
Kelly

Indy Eleven subs:
62'
IN - Hackshaw/Trialist
OUT - Trialist/Trialist

90+1'
IN - Trialist
OUT - King

Full-time Score
0 - 0

Photos:

Latest Indy Eleven stadium update

Last Thursday, the Indianapolis Business Journal released an article discussing a $550 million development that includes a stadium. From the article:

The Indy Eleven on Thursday unveiled a proposal for a $550 million mixed-use real estate district that would include a 20,000-seat outdoor soccer stadium as the team continues its quest to join Major League Soccer.
...
Ozdemir said he envisions the development, called Eleven Park, as a “transformational urban project” within the city.
...
Ozdemir said discussions with city and state officials have included where the development would best be located, noting there are “several sites in downtown Indianapolis” and one elsewhere that are viewed as good fits for the team. He declined to share the locations but said the team hopes to finalize the selection soon. 

The proposed stadium, slated to be ready for the 2022 season opener, would be surrounded by multiple apartment and office buildings, offering tenants views of the field from their windows.

The development is expected to include 600 apartments, more than 100,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of office space and a 200-room boutique hotel. The office space would be geared toward technology-driven companies and already has received interest from undisclosed multiple parties, according to Ozdemir.
...
Kennedy wasn’t available to discuss the proposed financial structure of the project, which differs from those used to build Lucas Oil Stadium and Bankers Life Fieldhouse, largely because the Eleven plan includes adjacent development that could generate tax revenue to help pay for the project. Like both of those stadiums, the Eleven proposal would redirect tax revenue to fund construction.

The Eleven Park proposal calls for enactment of new Professional Sports Development Area, or PSDA, and tax-increment financing district overlays limited to the park’s boundaries, as well as a 10 percent ticket tax.

The overlays would capture all tax revenue generated within the district for the purpose of funding construction of the stadium.

Developer-backed bonds would be issued to pay for the stadium, which is estimated to cost $150 million. Tax overlays on revenue generated by the rest of the development, which would be funded with $400 million in private investment, would be expected to cover payments on the bonds.
...
The Eleven played its 2018 season in Lucas Oil Stadium on a rent-free basis. But Ozdemir said the stadium is too large to be a long-term solution. He pointed to difficulty in scheduling games and the desire for the team to have “a permanent home” in Indianapolis.
...
An announcement is expected within months on a new investor group for both the team and the Eleven Park development.

So those are the basics of what we know from the article. An article, from the rumors, that was released a day ahead of when the Indy Eleven planned for it to be released. An article that was followed the next day by the Indy Star indicating that the Indy Eleven were in talks to buy the property of the former Broad Ripple High School, which didn't seem to be what the team wanted to have mentioned yet. Not exactly the way the team wanted to go into the weekend.

The above is where I was going to leave it and let Kevin Johnston and Brian Cook write their thoughts on the proposal. Brian has already written his article and I look forward to reading Kevin's take. Yet, three of my six readers requested my input so here we go...

The name Eleven Park? I called it that in January 2015. I'm good with the name.

Building it as part of a development and using that to help with paying the loan? I discussed that in May 2015 (specifically around a location on the campus of IUPUI, but it would apply in other locations).

After that, work into the design that the stadium be a mixed-use building like so many of the new apartment complexes going in around the city.  Depending on the new orientation of the stadium, both the revised New York Street and the University Boulevard sides of the stadium could have street-front shops like the example below, which is close to campus.
Instead of apartments above, you have a stadium. Hell, have apartments too where rent includes a season ticket, if it helps get the stadium built. Fill the shops with businesses that cater to both soccer fans, as well as college students. A soccer-specific bar (that should be easy), small restaurants, maybe even a grocery store since there aren't too many in that area. Using the same funding mechanism that was included in the House bill, that means that every dollar that goes through the stadium and all of those businesses can be used to pay back the loan. This could make the funding much more palatable to the legislature. However, with these kinds of businesses built directly into the stadium, this creates even more potential for investment from private financiers.

Guess I'm good with that too.

Location to be determined? I've discussed that ad nauseam. Here, here, here, here, & here. None of which includes Broad Ripple because I can't imagine that it would ever be an effective location and one that the team would seriously consider. Bargaining chip? Probably. But didn't Ersal building a parking garage in Broad Ripple that wasn't that well received? Hasn't it been stated since the inception of the stadium talks that downtown was the preferred location. Broad Ripple is not downtown.

Lucas Oil Stadium isn't a long-term solution? Said that before too.

From the Press Release (emphasis mine):

Eleven Park has proposed to privately develop and finance the office, retail, apartment and boutique hotel portions of the project. Taxes that are generated on the property as a result of the private development are proposed to be utilized to help finance the stadium and public areas which are proposed to be owned by the Capital Improvement Board and financed by the City of Indianapolis by developer backed bonds. Indy Eleven is proposing to the lease the stadium and pay all operating expenses as well as any cost overruns, creating no risk or exposure for the taxpayer.

To me that sounds like taxes that are generated from a private development are going toward another facility that many feel should also be a private facility and, therefore, won't be able to be used to fund other public needs like schools, roads, and sewers. How well has that been received in the past?

With the exception that "Melina Kennedy, president of the CIB, said her group “generally supports” the Eleven Park concept," it all seems repetitive and just as likely to get enough support as the past iterations. Particularly since "the proposal calls for enactment of new Professional Sports Development Area, or PSDA" and I can't find a proposed bill in the current General Assembly that would include it. Which means it would need to be attached to something else and that never goes over that well.

So what would I suggest you ask? Well, I've covered that before too over the years...

Thinking of proposed $85M @IndyEleven stadium & looking at @SAScorpions @ToyotaField pics. Nice! Does $85M forego their phased approach?

— Drew (@GenWRX6) August 11, 2014

As I watch @USL Game of the Week with @SanAntonioFC, I see Toyota Field as an excellent example for a soccer-specific stadium for @IndyEleven. It looks like a nice facility, but designed with the ability to expand.https://t.co/EBB1frI9RK (1/3

— Drew (@GenWRX6) July 26, 2018

Not a lot of fans in the seats for Costa Rica vs Canada in CONCACAF Women's Championship, but @RGVFC's H-E-B stadium looks nice. <$20M construction cost.https://t.co/CgoqbSPf8Uhttps://t.co/pSFwJOv1yX
CC: @IndyEleven

— Drew (@GenWRX6) October 12, 2018

There are my thoughts on the newest Indy Eleven stadium. Seems like we've been in these waters before.

However, I still think the team needs to continue to focus on a downtown location, figure out a way to get private investors on board, even if that means designing mix-use features into the stadium, and the location of Carroll Stadium is growing on me provided the logistics during the construction phase can be determined.

Maybe one day I'll be able to write about the actual stadium and my experience in it instead of potential locations and grocery stores.

The Soccer Life - Josh Mason

He's your president. 

He's your vice president.

He's rumored to be insanely rich.

He likes to work for beverage companies.

He's Joshua D. Mason.

Josh is one of the founding members of the Brickyard Battalion and the group's president from January 2015 to July 2018, when he became full narc and joined the Indy Eleven as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Josh is an all-around good dude, full of energy and passion for the Indy Eleven and I have enjoyed having conversations with Josh and his dad on the sidelines during Indy Eleven games over the years.

Josh once described himself this way - "I'd like to note that I'm a more than average over-30 indoors soccer player who's never played college soccer. I love the sport and that's why I'm involved in the team."

This is how he answered my questions about The Soccer Life:

Photo credit: Don Thompson (@DLTPhotog)

1. Name:
- Josh Mason

2. Role (Player, Parent, Coach, Referee, General Spectator, All of the Above, None of the Above, Other):
- Vice President of Sales & Marketing of Indy Eleven
Editor's Note: and coach and parent and referee...

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):
- Scooter. Thanks Dad.

4. Age became interested in soccer:
- 4

5. First recollection of the game:
- Playing my first game at ESSA on the far east side of Indy.

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- College Club

7. Honors/Awards
-

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
- Last night (I am still sore).
Editor's Note: The holidays took my attention so "last night" was November 20th of last year. I'm assuming Josh has played since then.

9. Position:
- Defense preferred

Josh presenting Braden Tamosaitis with Captain's armband
and BYB brick surrounding Brandon's signing with the team.
Photo credit: Don Thompson (@DLTPhotog)

10. Jersey number:
-

11. Coaching experience:
- Carmel FC (current U-11 Boys Travel Coach); total of 6 years.

12. Refereeing experience:
- Refereed all my childhood from like 12 years old on, and all 4 years of college.

13. Most memorable moment(s):
- The first Indy Eleven home game at Carroll Stadium. Surreal.

14. Least memorable moment(s):
- The moments I have already forgotten.

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
- USA vs England 1-1 draw, June 12, 2010. I was surrounded by all the Brits I played indoor with; new and old friends alike packing out a room and the energy was incredible.
- All USA vs Mexico games in Columbus, Ohio and the bus trips

16. Favorite team(s)
- Indy Eleven
- Manchester United

17. Favorite Historical player:
- Paul Scholes
- Ryan Giggs

18. Favorite Current Player
- Ayoze
- Juan Mata

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Outdoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

21. Other sports played (and to what level):
- Nothing well enough to mention!

22. Other Comments:
- Very excited to get this 2019 Campaign started. It's going to be a memorable year for sure for fans and players alike.