2012 Media Guide - WNBA.com

With 750,000 square feet and 18,165 seats,
this is a fairly new house that is, remarkably, in
just its 11th year, an old home.
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, opened Nov. 6,
1999, when the Indiana Pacers hosted the Boston
Celtics, is a step into the future while taking a
walk back into history. It’s big, yet comfortable. It
has all the modern appliances, yet there’s that
favorite old picture on the wall. It is a building that
is unique in today’s sports society because the
extra effort was made to make it that way. In
other words, if you have a religion, you must build
the appropriate cathedral.
In Indiana, basketball is religion. Bankers Life
Fieldhouse is a cathedral. That’s why the home of
the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever is unique.
“We wanted this building to have a kind of
special feeling to it, that when people came into it
they felt part of the tradition that the building is
for,” said former Pacers Sports & Entertainment
CEO & President Donnie Walsh, who was
instrumental in the Fiedlhouse becoming a reality.
“I think this is a pure basketball arena that reflects the game itself
and the roots of the game.”
Ground was broken on July 22, 1997 on the $183 million multipurpose
facility and while there were blueprints, a scale model and
dreams, it was hard for anyone at the time to fathom what would
evolve. But what has risen 14 stories into the Indianapolis skyline
is a fit perfect for the city, the state, the game of basketball at any
level and the various events a facility of this type would host.
“There are so many features that make it one-of-a-kind,” said
Tom Proebstle, Project Designer for Ellerbe Beckett, the
Fieldhouse design firm. “The most obvious feature is the two huge
glass curtain walls facing east and west that mark the beginning of
an incredible architectural promenade as you are approaching
downtown on the highway and see the lit-up glass set against the
Indianapolis skyline. No other arena in the world can claim this. I’m
sure it will be copied many times over.”
That’s the view from the outside. Inside, the unique look and
feel of Bankers Life Fieldhouse takes over. The Indiana University
Health Entry Pavilion is a vast gathering place that funnels fans to
the Grand Staircase. As patrons make their way up the staircase,
their view takes them to their first look at the seating bowl (another
unique feature) or to large memorabilia cases on each side of the
entrance to the Fieldhouse seating bowl.
From there, no matter which direction one takes, it’s a nostalgic
look. From the signage, to the concession stands, to the sponsor
pavilions, to the bathrooms, to the one-of-a-kind Practice Court, to
the light fixtures, to the scoreboard, Bankers Life Fieldhouse is
unique, distinct and, as Pacers’ great Reggie Miller described,
“Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. Far beyond my
expectations.”
Bankers Life Fieldhouse has suites (69), club seats (2,400) and
state-of-the-art amenities. But it has a look and feel unlike any
other indoor facility.
This unique feel has brought many comparisons and
compliments to Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The USA Today calls the
Fieldhouse “A Cathedral to Basketball” and Amusement Business
Magazine refers to Bankers Life Fieldhouse as “The Camden
Yards of Basketball.” NBC’s Bob Costas said Bankers Life
Fieldhouse “is winning raves all around the league, many think it’s
the best building in the NBA.”
2012 INDIANA FEVER MEDIA GUIDE
BANKERS LIFE FIELDHOUSE
6 • FeverBasketball.com
A 2006 survey by the Sports Business Journal ranked Bankers
Life Fieldhouse as the No. 1 venue in the NBA. An informal
ranking in the Orange County Register, in 2008, echoed the same
rating.
In addition to hosting the Indiana Pacers and Fever, the
Fieldhouse has hosted major boxing events and visits from
Pavarotti, Bill Cosby, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Billy Joel,
Bob Seger, George Strait & Reba McIntire, The Boston Pops,
John Mellencamp, Paul McCartney, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, The
Dixie Chicks, NSync, AC/DC, Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood,
Crosby Stills, Nash & Young, Kid Rock, U2, Hannah Montana,
Disney On Ice and Dancing With The Stars. It has also played host
to the 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championships, the 2004 FINA
World Short Course Swimming Championships and the United
States Gymnastics Championships. In April 2011, it played host to
the NCAA Women’s Final Four. In 2012 the Fieldhouse provided a
border to the east side of the Super Bowl Village for Super Bowl
XLVI. It has been an annual host of the Big Ten Conference men’s
and women’s basketball tournaments, and a gathering point for the
National FFA Convention – the nation’s largest annual youth
gathering.
Additionally, Bankers Life Fieldhouse has been cited for its
compliance and exceeding of ADA (Americans with Disabilities
Act) requirements.
Bankers Life Fieldhouse was the host site of the 2011 NCAA
Women’s Final Four, welcoming Connecticut, Stanford, Notre
Dame and Texas A&M to Indianapolis. Texas A&M defeated
Notre Dame to earn its first national championship.
A basketball and entertainment showplace, Bankers Life Fieldhouse has regularly been rated as the top arena in the NBA.