/ Dana Hunsinger Benbow screengrab from video
By Chris Sikich | Indianapolis Star
The Indiana Pacers and Indianapolis have agreed to a 25-year deal that commits roughly $800 million in public spending to keep the team in town.
Related: City Council approves $230 million deal to renovate Phoenix Suns arena
The Marion County Capital Improvement Board, which owns or manages the city’s professional sports stadiums, voted unanimously in favor of the 157-page agreement at a Friday morning meeting.
It will add amenities such as a big outdoor plaza, suite upgrades and an indoor fan deck and keep the Pacers in town through the 2043-44 NBA season, with options to extend it another three years.
The terms include $295 million in public money announced at the meeting to upgrade Bankers Life Fieldhouse and roughly $362 million — described by the CIB later in the day as averaging $14.5 million a year over 25 years — to operate it over that time. The CIB would spend another $120 million on technology upgrades over 10 years, after which the board and the Pacers would renegotiate those terms to keep up with new tech.
