Property owners might be 'red card' for downtown soccer stadium at heart of MLS franchise bid

Weeks before Mayor Joe Hogsett announced the city is partnering with an unnamed investor group to pursue a Major League Soccer expansion team and build a new Downtown stadium, business owner Lena Hackett was approached about selling her historic building at 10 S. New Jersey St.

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The query came in March from an intermediary Hackett said she later learned was representing a limited liability company affiliated with the city. It wouldn’t be clear until late April, however, why the broker was interested in the property located just west of the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport.

"He reached out to me two or three times asking about the building, asking if it was on the market, and even though it wasn't, asking if I would entertain an offer,” she said. “I was like ‘knock yourself out.’”

Hackett said she soon received an offer. She declined to reveal the amount but called it “high.”

At that time, the city was still publicly supporting a development by the owner of the Indy Eleven , which also included a soccer-specific stadium aimed at trying to land a MLS expansion team. A taxing district for that project, called Eleven Park, had won council approval last year, but behind the scenes city officials began questioning the developer’s ability to pull off the mixed-use development project, let alone secure a new franchise.

That wasn’t the only prickly issue surrounding Eleven Park: The site, on the east bank of White River off of Kentucky Avenue, had been the city’s first cemetery and is widely believed to contain the remains of hundreds or more people , including many of the first Black residents in Indianapolis.

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What Hackett didn’t know at the time was that her property is smack dab in the middle of an alternate stadium site the city is eyeing, centered around a parking lot at 355 E. Pearl St. That picture became clear after Hogsett announced on April 25 the city was dropping its support for the Eleven Park stadium and striking out on a new path with a potential private ownership group being formed by former-Chelsea executive Tom Glick. No other investors have been identified.

When asked if she'd ever be interested in selling her building, Hackett said there's still many unanswered questions.

"We have to see how this all goes — if indeed a Major League Soccer Team is secured, if indeed, you know, the stadium is going to be built?" said Hackett. "I'm not really interested in selling it just with all those unanswered questions, because if all of that falls through, then I don't have a building anymore.”

Land changes hands but no commitment to soccer

It's still too early to say whether Indianapolis will be successful in its pursuit of an MLS expansion team.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber told reporters at MLS All-Star festivities last week in Columbus , Ohio, that once its 30th team in San Diego debuts next year it could be a while before the league adds another expansion team. Still, he said, Indianapolis is making all the right moves in its pursuit, and the league likes the location the Hogsett administration identified for the stadium.

The city is in the initial stages of preparing its application. Hogsett said last week the city would like to submit its proposal before the end of this year.

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Hackett isn’t alone in receiving unsolicited offers to purchase property for the proposed stadium within a roughly 15-acre area bordered on the north by East Washington Street, Gainbridge Fieldhouse to the west and the CSX rail lines to the south and east.

The tract is the epicenter of a Professional Sports Development Area, a special taxing district which would redirect some city and state taxes to help pay for a potential stadium . The designation was approved by the council and Metropolitan Development Commission in June. As elected officials spent more than two months debating whether to approve the PSDA, the Hogsett administration began inquiring about land around the heliport.

A city spokeswoman said those inquiries are typically confidential to protect negotiations. Hypothetically though, under one process, the city could acquire a property and transfer it to the Capital Improvement Board of Marion County for long-term ownership and site control. The CIB owns Lucas Oil Stadium , home of the Indianapolis Colts, and Gainbridge Fieldhouse where the Indiana Pacers play.

Both the city and the CIB say it's too early in the process to discuss details such as the potential footprint for the stadium. Officials for both have publicly said design plans aren't complete for the stadium. There's also no acquisition timeline to acquire any needed property or a budget for purchasing land.

With the growing popularity of soccer nationally, U.S. cities are leaning into the sport and pursuing franchises in hopes of capturing the millions of dollars generated by fans who attend games. There are 26 Major League Soccer clubs in the U.S. and three in Canada. San Diego FC will debut as the 30th team in 2025.

New teams have been launched in cities such as Cincinnati, San Diego, Nashville and St. Louis, where hundreds of millions have been spent on constructing top-of-the-line stadiums offering luxury amenities and diverse retail options to entice fans.

The ownership team of St. Louis City SC pushed for the creation of CITYPARK, a roughly 31-acre downtown sports district that's considered the largest urban professional sports campus in the U.S. A 12-acre, 22,500-seat soccer stadium, with the ability to expand, anchors the district which includes the team's business offices, practice fields and team store. The district also features a permanent art installation honoring the 20,000 Black residents who were displaced from the location in the 1950s due to urban renewal policies.

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Roughly two hours away, Cincinnati's $250 million, 26,000-seat TQL Stadium, home to FC Cincinnati, opened for its first match in spring 2021. The stadium was built on about 12.4-acres in a historic African-American neighborhood, displacing some residents . In February 2023, FC Cincinnati began demolition work to clear another 8.5 acres north of the stadium to make way for the construction of a mixed-use development with a hotel, apartments, restaurants, office space and retail. It's expected the first buildings would be completed by the end of next year.

At 30,000 seats, GEODIS Park is one of the largest soccer-specific stadiums in North America. It's home to Nashville SC and constructed at Nashville's fairgrounds.

There are no homes or apartments within the footprint of Indianapolis' proposed soccer stadium site. Besides the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport and Hackett's building, the target area is mostly comprised of parking lots and properties —two of which are owned by entities with ties to a pair of Hoosier billionaires. One owns the Indiana Pacers, and the other is a co-owner of the Indy Eleven and an investor in Eleven Park.

Much of the remaining property needed, including the Pearl Street parking lot, is privately owned, which raises two key questions: Are owners willing to negotiate and voluntarily sell their buildings and land? Could the city resort to using eminent domain to acquire the property needed for a soccer stadium and any accompanying amenities?

While city officials have been hesitant to address in public meetings and interviews any potential use of eminent domain, according to the city's Department of Metropolitan Development there are several processes the city utilizes to acquire land in general.

Those options include buying vacant properties through tax sales, obtaining land through intergovernmental transfers from one city department to another, or negotiating with private landowners. Under the latter, the city obtains two appraisals to determine the fair-market value of the property. The average of the two appraisals is the maximum price the city can pay for the land, said Megan Vukusich, DMD director. The Metropolitan Development Commission also has to approve the acquisition.

This is the process used if the landowner is willing to come to the table to negotiate a sale, Vukusich said, also explaining that property owners have the right not to sell.

One property gets a new owner

The city's preferred stadium site includes the roughly 5.4-acres heliport owned by the Indianapolis Airport Authority. There's already a memorandum of understanding for the redevelopment of the heliport property at 51 S. New Jersey St., which is bisected by South East Street, just south of East Washington Street. It includes 3.6 acres west of the thoroughfare and another 1.6 acres across the street. An effort to decommission the property has restarted.

While that would make up a sizable share of the stadium's construction area, other properties could also be needed.

In May, a 5.16-acre parking lot near the heliport changed ownership. JL Parking Associates sold 101 S. Alabama St to a limited liability company for $10.5 million, according to public real estate records. The new owner has no principal of record listed in state business incorporation records, but it shares an ownership address with the Herbert Simon Family Foundation and Simon Equity Partners.

When asked if the Pacers owner Herb Simon and his son, Steve Simon, have joined the ownership group forming for the city's potential MLS team, Danny Lopez, vice president for corporate communications and external affairs, did not confirm or deny the information.

“At this time, we don’t have any comment on this matter. Thanks,” he wrote in a text message sent in June. During a meeting days later, Hogsett also did not confirm or den y the speculation.

More recently, Phil Bayt, an Ice Miller attorney and business representative for the Simons, said the acquisition of the parking lot is totally unrelated to the city’s pursuit of Major League Soccer.

The Pacers Sports & Entertainment used the parking lot extensively for event parking, whether it was to house big trucks for concerts or for major broadcasters to set up their facilities. Bayt said the Pacers got word last fall that the prior owner was open to selling the lot, and he began making efforts to purchase it on their behalf. Those discussions began in September and concluded in the spring. Under ownership of the Simon family, the lot is currently being leased to the Pacers which the family owns.

If the parking lot is identified as a necessary piece of puzzle needed for the construction of the proposed soccer stadium, Bayt said a sale might be considered.

“The Simon family and the PSE organization is always cooperative with the city of Indianapolis,” he said. “So if such a request were to be made, there would certainly be consideration of that and and cooperation there.”

On the eastern edge of the area, north of a smaller heliport parcel, is a building owned by Chuck Surack , a co-owner of the Indy Eleven soccer team. He said he purchased the building at 603 E. Washington St. several years ago to protect against development at the heliport. The building houses several nonprofit rental tenants, said Surack of Fort Wayne, who has publicly supported the Eleven Park stadium.

"We bought the property several years ago, long before there was any thought of a soccer stadium going there," said Surack. He opposes closure of the heliport. "The airport authority has been trying to close the heliport for almost three years now, and I think it's a great asset for the city of Indianapolis and, frankly, the whole state of Indiana."

Surack said no one has approach him to purchase the site. He said he's not interested in selling anyway. But, he stopped short at saying there's no price that would entice him.

"I don't know," he said. "I want to wait and see what happens with the whole heliport."

There's interest in land near heliport

It's unclear if Surack's property could factor into the land needed for the soccer stadium.

Other property owners, however, are considering offers or have declined to speak on any offer they've received.

A spokesperson for AES Indiana , which owns the parking lot at 355 E. Pearl St., the center of the PSDA, confirmed the utility is currently engaged in negotiations with a third party to sell the site for new development. AES Indiana did not respond to additional questions about the negotiations nor identify the prospective buyer. The utility also did not answer when the deal is expected to close.

William Potter, who co-owns property on East Washington Street north of the heliport, declined to comment about his opinions on the proposed stadium and whether he’s been contacted about selling.

Anup Patel, co-owner of APS Hospitality, a limited liability company that owns LaQuinta Suites by Wyndham at 401 E. Washington St. north of the heliport, is part of an ownership group.

Patel views the potential stadium as a positive — not only for his hotel but for the city as a whole. Still, he said the ownership group wouldn't just sell the hotel to anyone, though personally he would consider an offer at a premium price.

When asked if he's been contacted to sell his property, Patel was hesitant to say, offering a conflicting response.

"I cannot tell this one, but lots of interest, yes," he said, before quickly adding, "but nobody's contacted me yet."

Contact IndyStar investigative reporter Alexandria Burris at aburris@gannett.com . Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @allyburris .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Property owners might be 'red card' for downtown soccer stadium at heart of MLS franchise bid