MLS Commissioner Don Garber was in Indianapolis yesterday and took meetings with Mayor Joe Hogsett and his deputies, along with state officials, “to secure further backing for a future team in Indianapolis,” according to sources cited by Mickey Shuey of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. Sources said that the meetings were intended to “reassure state leaders of the league’s interest in bringing the city into its cadre of clubs.” Garber also attended the Pacers game against the Nuggets at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, watching from the city’s suite as Hogsett’s guest. Joining Garber were MLS EVP & MLS Next Pro President Charles Altchek; Chief Legal Officer Anastasia Danias; EVP/Club Performance Chris McGowan; Chief Communications Officer Dan Courtemanche; and Garber’s Chief of Staff Nina Tinari (INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/24).
SHOWING POTENTIAL: In Indianapolis, Carloni, Colombo & Guffey noted Hogsett pitched Indianapolis back in the fall, as “the next home to professional soccer” to league execs and owners at the MLS All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio. At the time, Garber said that expansion “would take some time” but stressed Indianapolis is “doing all the right things.” Since that visit at the All-Star Game, the city has “remained largely quiet on the MLS front,” though entities associated with the city’s MLS bid have been “lining up property downtown for a potential stadium site” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 2/24).
JOINING IN: In a separate piece, Shuey reported the Simon family -- which owns the Pacers and Fever -- is involved in the efforts to bring MLS to Indianapolis. Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines “confirmed the company’s involvement in the process” last night. However, she declined to specify whether it was “stepping in as an investor.” Last year, a company affiliated with the family paid $10.5M to acquire a downtown parking lot in a “key location for the city’s plans for building a soccer-specific stadium,” adjacent to the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport (INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/24).
