Casino could be in the cards for downtown Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — Talks of landing a potential casino license for downtown Indianapolis are in very early stages, after a state-commissioned study found Indy to be the most lucrative location.

It’s still much too early to tell if a casino is in the cards for downtown Indy, but sources tell the Indianapolis Business Journal that this is an effort supported by the Hogsett administration, as well as senators from both sides of the aisle: Sen. Aaron Freeman (R-Indianapolis) and Sen. Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis).

On the other hand, at least one key legislative leader, House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers), has voiced his opposition to putting another casino in central Indiana. All of this, after a state-commissioned study found downtown Indy was the best choice for a casino license from a revenue standpoint, followed by the Fort Wayne area. 

If the existing Rising Star Casino were to relocate to the state capital, the IBJ reports an estimated $170 million in gambling tax revenue each year and more than $490 million in estimated gross annual revenue. 

“From those I’ve talked to, this is about as far as they’ve ever gotten in serious conversations about having a downtown casino. There have been talks about maybe one at the airport in the past or at the fairgrounds back in the 90s, but as far as downtown goes, this is the farthest things have gone,” said Mickey Shuey, IBJ’s commercial real estate, tourism and sports business reporter.

According to the IBJ, the Capital Improvement Board is intrigued by the idea, as negotiations for a new lease agreement for the Indianapolis Colts are right around the corner. 

“Improving Lucas Oil Stadium and essentially what that might look like long term, they’ll need to find a way to pay for that. They’ll need to find ways to pay for a soccer stadium if they opt to move ahead with that,” Shuey said.

“There’s plenty of other projects downtown that the city would like to get funding for.”

The IBJ reported that multiple potential sites have been brought into the conversation, with two locations near the Indiana Convention Center at the forefront. Shuey said it’s looking to be a tough sell, as Rising Star has basically laid out its plan for a $500 million casino in New Haven, just north of Fort Wayne. The location took second place behind Indy in the study.

“From the indications I got from state officials, those outside of Marion County, they’re going to be tough to win over. Especially since there’s not been a firm plan put in place for what will happen with a casino downtown.”

In the coming months, Shuey said we should see discussion start to ramp up on this, as we move closer to the regular session next year. He said that, according to state leaders, there’s a lot of “winning over” to do, in terms of gaining support from those outside of Marion County in order to make this a reality.