FISHERS, Ind. – The future home of the Indy Fuel, the Fishers Freight and the Indy Ignite is starting to take shape.
The walls and roof are up and the seats will soon go in at the Fishers Event Center. Construction crews broke ground on the $170-million entertainment project last March. It sits just off I-69 near Ikea.
Nearly 300 construction workers and their heavy machinery have helped piece together the state-of-the-art arena’s superstructure in the last year. On the outside, the roof is up. On the inside, the stands are also starting to take form.
FOX59/CBS4 got a behind-the-scenes look at the work both inside and outside. Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said he has been thrilled to see the progress of the project.
“We’ve been looking at pictures and renderings of this for a long time,” Fadness described. “It’s very exciting to be able to walk through the hallways and really envision what it’s going to be like.”
The Fishers Event Center is described as a “mid-sized” venue. It will hold some 7,500 seats and developers argue there is not a bad spot in the house.
“[There are] tons of different seating options, whether you’re looking for a group suite, regular suite, standard seat or drink rails,” said Fishers Event Center General Manager Mitch List. “So we really feel like there’s something for everybody here.”
As the whole arena starts taking shape, crews are also putting in 14 miles of tubes right at the center of the arena where the ice rink will be. Those tubes are responsible for helping form an inch of ice on top of a large concrete slab that will cover the tubes.
Eventually, the Indy Fuel will play on that ice. But the event center is home to more than just the Fuel. It will also house the Fishers Freight, an indoor football team, and the Indy Ignite, a professional volleyball team.
“We are anticipating doing over 125 events in year one,” List said.
List said that will include concerts, graduations and other types of community events
“It’s our goal to have a well-rounded grouping of events that have something for everybody,” he said.
As construction crews finalize the nine-story mega-project, Mayor Fadness said the Fishers Event Center will play a major role in what the city has to offer.
“That’s really going to create this world-class entertainment district,” he said. “Whether you want to go out to eat, whether you want to be entertained at Chicken ‘N Pickle or whether you want to come here for a great concert or great sporting event. I think it really creates and epicenter here on the northeast side of Indianapolis.”
Developers said construction is on schedule and anticipate opening doors in late November of 2024.
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