The arena was originally named Conseco Fieldhouse, as the naming rights to the venue were sold to Conseco, a financial services organization based in nearby Carmel. In May 2010, the company renamed itself CNO Financial Group, but the fieldhouse retained the Conseco name. In December 2011, CNO Financial Group changed the name of the fieldhouse to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, after one of its subsidiaries, Bankers Life and Casualty.[7] CNO decided not to renew its naming sponsorship after it expired on June 30, 2019.[8] On September 27, 2021, the fieldhouse announced that Indianapolis-based financial platform Gainbridge would be the new naming partner for the fieldhouse in a multi-year partnership.[9]
In April 2019, the Marion County Capital Improvement Board approved a major renovation project for the fieldhouse. The $360 million project will include a new outdoor entry plaza, new indoor gathering areas, and various interior enhancements. The Pacers committed to remaining in Indianapolis for at least 25 more years as part of the renovation agreement.[10] Construction will take place in two phases, with the fieldhouse having planned to host the 2021 NBA All-Star Game in between the phases, which was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost all of the construction work took place during the Pacers offseasons.[11][12] The project displaced the Fever for all of the 2020 and 2021 WNBA seasons, as well as part of the 2022 season; for 2022, the Fever played the first section of the schedule at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, but after the NBA season ended, the Fever played games at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
The arena was built to evoke an Indiana high school and college field house. As such, unlike most other North American sports arenas, it was designed primarily for basketball. The arena can accommodate an NHL-sized rink, but the ice hockey seating capacity is reduced to 12,300 in an asymmetrical configuration.
Eventsedit
The first NBA game held at Conseco Fieldhouse was on November 6, 1999, when the Indiana Pacers played their regular-season home opener against the Boston Celtics.[13] Later that same season, the Pacers made it to the 2000 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. Games 3, 4, and 5 of that championship series were held at Conseco Fieldhouse, but the Pacers ended up losing that season's title four games to two.[citation needed]
In 2000, the fieldhouse was also the site for the 2000 Ray Miron President's Cup finals, with two games of the series being played there. The Indianapolis Ice won the series against the now-defunct Columbus Cottonmouths 4 games to 3.[citation needed]
Several games of the 2002 FIBA World Championship were played at Conseco Fieldhouse, including the semifinals and the final.[citation needed]
In 2009, Conseco Fieldhouse was the site for the 2009 WNBA Finals. The Indiana Fever took on the Phoenix Mercury for games 3 and 4 of that series but ended up losing the series. Three years later, the Fever hosted the 2012 WNBA Finals for games 3 and 4 and beat the Minnesota Lynx.[citation needed]
From 2002 to 2007, the fieldhouse served as the site of the Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament in even-numbered years, while the tournament was held at the United Center in Chicago in odd-numbered years. In 2008, the tournament was moved to Conseco Fieldhouse exclusively for five years, through 2012. The arena is also a frequent site of the Big Ten women's basketball tournament. 2012 marked the 12th time in 13 years that the tournament had been held at the fieldhouse. On June 5, 2011, the Big Ten Conference announced that beginning in 2013, the location of both of the conference basketball tournaments for the following four years would be alternated between the Chicago area and Indianapolis. Bankers Life Fieldhouse would again be the site for both men's and women's events in 2014 and 2016.[14] The 2011 NCAA Women's Final Four was also held at the fieldhouse on April 3 and April 5 of 2011. For basketball, the venue seats 17,923 (18,345 from 1999 to 2006, 18,165 from 2006 to 2016).
Gainbridge Fieldhouse is one of many concert venues in the city of Indianapolis. On March 11, 2019, Metallica set a new attendance record at the venue with 18,274 fans at the venue. The previous record was held by Billy Joel (16,594).[17]
Gainbridge Fieldhouse hosted first and second-round games of the 2017, 2022, and 2024 NCAA tournaments. The arena also hosted first, second, and regional semifinal (Sweet 16) round games of the 2021 tournament.[20]
High school sportsedit
In addition to professional events, the arena also hosts the IHSAA state finals in wrestling as well as both girls and boys basketball. It also occasionally hosts other high school tournaments as well.
The fieldhouse is notable for being the location of many landmark moments for the professional wrestling group The Shield, who debuted on November 18, 2012, at Survivor Series,[64] broke up on the June 2, 2014 episode of WWE Raw[65] and reunited on the October 9, 2017 episode of WWE Raw.[66]
In 2005 and 2006, Conseco Fieldhouse was ranked the No. 1 venue in the NBA according to the Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily Reader Survey. In 2006 The Ultimate Sports Road Trip reaffirmed Conseco Fieldhouse as the best venue in all 4 of the major sports leagues. "The Ultimate Sports Road Trip has recently concluded a re-scoring and re-evaluation of all 122 franchises in the four major sports, based on our personal visits to each of the teams in a journey that began in 1998. Based on our criteria, Conseco Fieldhouse has again withstood scrutiny to be named the "best of the best" in the four major sports. Everything about Conseco Fieldhouse is top notch, a sparkling venue in a sparkling city," said Farrell and Kulyk.
In October 2004, the fieldhouse hosted the 2004 FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships. A 25-meter 300,000-gallon competition pool and 174,000-gallon warm-up pool were temporarily installed. A total of 71,659 tickets were sold for the four-day event. On the evening of Saturday, October 11, 2004, the crowd set a record for the largest attendance at a U.S. Swimming event outside of the Olympics with 11,488 people.[citation needed]
In 2022, sportswriter Bill Simmons called Gainbridge Fieldhouse "incredible", saying "the only arena I've ever been in NBA-wise, where I honestly felt like it felt different was the Indiana one, because they built it for basketball only." He further elaborated by saying "it feels like the fans are on top of the court. The corners come way out toward the baseline. That's still my favorite. All these other ones feel like variations [of the same thing]."[68]
Scoreboardedit
In 2012, a giant state-of-the-art scoreboard was added to Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The scoreboard features twin 1080p high definition (HD) video screens, each measuring 50 feet (15 m) long – extending nearly foul line to foul line – by 21 feet (6.4 m) high. In addition to the HD screens running the length of the court, the innovative rectangular scoreboard design is capped by a 25 ft × 14 ft (7.6 m × 4.3 m) full 1080p HD video screen facing each baseline. The result of the design is a greatly improved visual experience from nearly every seat in the building. Additionally, a new sound system was installed.[69]
^The concert was initially scheduled to take place on July 30, 2019; however, a security threat resulted in the show being rescheduled.[55]
Referencesedit
^1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda(PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States(PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^"Conseco Fieldhouse". Blackburn Architects. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
^"Conseco Fieldhouse". John Klipsch Consulting, LLC. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
^"Conseco Fieldhouse" (PDF). Fink Roberts and Petrie, Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
^Nieto, Mike (December 19, 2011). "Where Are They Now?: John Wilczynski". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Munster. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
^"Bankers Life Fieldhouse". Ballparks.com. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
^"Conseco Fieldhouse Renamed Bankers Life Fieldhouse". Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Press release). December 22, 2011. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
^"Fieldhouse to lose Bankers Life moniker after insurer declines to renew naming deal". Indianapolis Business Journal. March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
^"The Home of the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever Renamed Gainbridge Fieldhouse Through Pacers Sports & Entertainment and Gainbridge Partnership". Indiana Pacers. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
^"Pacers, Indianapolis officials ink deal for arena overhaul". Associated Press. April 12, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
^"UPDATE: CIB approves Pacers deal to fund $360M renovation, expansion of Bankers Life Fieldhouse". Indianapolis Business Journal. April 11, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
^General, Robert (June 24, 2019). "Bankers Life Fieldhouse will gain outdoor plaza with skating, lose Fever for two seasons". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
^"1999-00 Indiana Pacers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.com.
^"Big Ten Announces Future Sites for Football Championship Games and Basketball Tournaments - BIG TEN CONFERENCE Official Athletic Site". Bigten.org. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
^"Indianapolis hosts BPR Jack Daniels Invitational". The Professional Bull Riders. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
^"The Indianapolis Invitational Live On OLN!". Professional Bull Riders. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
^"Metallica Sets Attendance Record at Indianapolis Bankers Life Fieldhouse". Blabbermouth. March 12, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
^Brown, Clifton; Newell, Nat; Briggs, James (December 13, 2017). "Pacers to host 2021 NBA All-Star game". Indy Star. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
^"NBA All-Star 2021 in Indianapolis Postponed to 2024". NBA.com. November 25, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
^"NCAA tournament to be held entirely in Indiana". ESPN. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
^"Bruce Springsteen Setlist at Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis". setlist.fm.
^"The Bandito Tour - Twenty One Pilots". Retrieved September 16, 2021.
^Lindquist, David. "Ariana Grande brings one pop banger after another to Bankers Life Fieldhouse". The Indianapolis Star.
^"Backstreet Boys will bring world tour to Indianapolis in 2019". The Indianapolis Star.
^"My safety and your safety first": Cardi B postpones Indianapolis concert after threat". The Indianapolis Star. July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
^Lindquist, David. "Bright and shiny Jonas Brothers spring back into action in Indianapolis". The Indianapolis Star.
^"WWE Champion CM Punk def. John Cena and Ryback (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
^Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 6/2: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – PPV fall-out, huge angle at the end of Raw, post-Raw coverage, MITB hype, more". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
^Keller, Wade (October 10, 2017). "KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 10/9: Shield reunion continues, Miz TV with Sheamus & Cesaro, TLC build up continues". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
^Adams, Jeff (October 8, 2015). "Midgets, Outlaws will race indoors". Peoria Journal-Star. Peoria, IL. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
^VanTyron, Matthew (June 7, 2022). "'(Expletive) incredible': Why Gainbridge Fieldhouse is Bill Simmons' favorite NBA arena". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
^"Bankers Life Fieldhouse and Pacers Announce New Video Screen and Sound System". Indiana Pacers.
^"AFL Arena List | ArenaFan.com". www.arenafan.com. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Official website
The Ultimate Sports Road Trip profile Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Seating Charts Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
Interview with Bankers Life Fieldhouse Executive Chef Chris Albano