The Capital Improvement Board voted Dec. 12 to begin pre-construction plans for a downtown professional soccer stadium, granting the project to Shiel Sexton, an Indianapolis-based company with experience at facilities such as Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indiana University’s Assembly Hall and Victory Field.
The unanimous vote by the Board of Managers to bring Shiel Sexton on board does not mean construction will start immediately or even that it is guaranteed. However, it is a key if very preliminary step toward building a stadium, a prerequisite to submitting a bid to MLS for a team. The total cost to build the stadium could influence when and how the bid ultimately comes together.
By selecting a construction manager, the CIB moved forward on a priority of Mayor Joe Hogsett to secure plans to build a soccer-specific stadium large enough to seat 20,000 people at 355 E. Pearl St. near the former downtown heliport.
Shiel Sexton was one of four companies to submit a bid in response to a request for proposals for construction management.
“We’re very excited to partner with the city and help with this endeavor,” Shiel Sexton Chief Operating Officer Matt Barnes told IndyStar. “Obviously it has a long way to go, but we have a long history of working with the city, and we’re headquartered downtown so we’re looking forward to continuing that relationship.”
As the entity tasked with building and managing the city’s publicly owned sports venues, the CIB put out a request for proposals this past summer to solicit construction managers who can help nail down the cost of building a stadium, expected to be in the hundreds of millions. If the city wanted to keep alive any hope of opening a soccer stadium by 2028, a priority for Hogsett, the lengthy construction process needed to begin this year with this step.
Shiel Sexton and the CIB plan to have estimates on the maximum cost for a stadium by early 2026.
CIB Executive Director Andy Mallon said construction would not start until all property is purchased, legislative approvals are in place and funding is secured, a process that could take months.
“We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves on a project we will not get reimbursed for,” Mallon said. “As the complications of the funding for this project continue to be talked about… we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves financially.”
Moving forward, the CIB still needs to negotiate specific terms; this agreement is simply for construction management. Once the board settles on the contract’s terms — which is expected to include payment to Shiel Sexton for expertise and site work — then construction will move a step closer. The CIB has also partnered with Populous, a Kansas City-based company that has a track record of designing MLS stadiums, on preliminary design plans.
In making a play to join the big leagues in soccer, Hogsett has repeatedly said the city will not build a soccer-specific stadium until MLS approves a franchise for Indianapolis
Commissioner Don Garber has not signaled when the league might be open to welcoming more clubs, making the timeline even murkier. Hogsett’s office has not given a timetable to submit a bid either, only suggesting obtaining a team by 2028 is a goal.
Through a spokesperson, Hogsett said the CIB’s efforts are keeping the “process on track and moving forward.”
“The Capital Improvement Board’s decision on a construction management contract for a soccer-specific stadium marks an important step in bringing Major League Soccer to Indianapolis — something Mayor Hogsett is committed to delivering,” a Mayor’s office spokesperson said.
State legislators also still need to sign off on a financing plan that would allow part of the taxes a new stadium would generate to help pay for the development. It’s unclear when the State Budget Committee will vote on that plan, called a Professional Sports Development Area. The resolution has so far been left off the committee’s agenda for more than a year and a half.
Why the CIB is working on a soccer stadium
In spring 2024, Hogsett announced the city was pursuing an independent bid to join MLS with the backing of an ownership group that has yet to be announced publicly.
By doing so, the city tossed aside a $1 billion development plan by Keystone Group and Indy Eleven to build Eleven Park, a 20-000 seat stadium and entertainment district on the Diamond Chain site downtown.
After a flurry of activity and headlines, Hogsett at the time said the city wanted to submit a bid to join MLS by the end of 2024. That deadline came and went.
In February 2025, Commissioner Garber visited Gov. Mike Braun to discuss the topic. Both sides suggested the meeting went well, but questions about timing and the economics of a new team lingered.
Alysa Guffey writes business, health and development stories for IndyStar. Have a story tip? Contact her at amguffey@usatodayco.com or on X: @AlysaGuffeyNews.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Firm tapped to manage Indy soccer stadium build, early step for MLS team
Reporting by Alysa Guffey, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
