Indianapolis, IN
Downtown heliport at center of MLS stadium talks to close. What happens next?
Watch discussions on site for possible MLS stadium in Indianapolis
Listen to discussions at the Metropolitan Development Commission on a proposed stadium site to attract a Major League Soccer team to Indianapolis.
Brett Phelps/IndyStar
The Federal Aviation Administration has officially approved closing the downtown Indianapolis heliport, capping off a yearslong decommissioning process and clearing a hurdle for the Major League Soccer stadium that Mayor Joe Hogsett hopes to one day develop on the site.
Three years after the Indianapolis Airport Authority submitted a request to decommission, or shut down, the heliport, the FAA ultimately agreed, determining closing the heliport would not impact air operations in Indianapolis and was “a net benefit to civil aviation,” according to a Nov. 25 letter signed by FAA Associate Administrator for Airports Shannetta Griffin and addressed to the IAA Executive Director Mario Rodriguez.
IAA officials said the heliport, which opened in 1969, has seen a decline in demand, tenants and revenue along with mounting expenses in recent years, according to the letter.
The fate of the heliport has become publicly intwined with Mayor Joe Hogsett’s efforts to bring a Major League Soccer team to Indianapolis, as the heliport sits at the center of a mile-wide site the city identified as a potential soccer stadium district after ditching a $1 billion development proposed by Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir. The city has exclusive rights to buy and redevelop the heliport site from the IAA under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2021.
The proposal to close the heliport sparked opposition across the state. In comments to the FAA, hundreds of aviation enthusiasts, politicians and business owners, including former vice president Mike Pence, opposed the plan, citing the benefit of the heliport’s easy access to downtown.
“There is literally nowhere to land a helicopter in Indianapolis now,” said Fort Wayne entrepreneur Chuck Surack, who owns the helicopter charter service Sweet Helicopters. “Any leading world class city has a heliport or a way to land downtown. You need it for safety and for the public good.”
Surack, who joined Indy Eleven as a co-owner and investor for a now-defunct private Indy Eleven soccer stadium development, bought the nearby LaQuinta Inn and Suites property at 401 E. Washington St. three months ago to encourage more dialogue over the location of the stadium, he told IndyStar.
Over the past three years, the FAA said no buyer came forward to acquire the heliport from the Indianapolis Airport Authority to keep it in operation.
Flight data at the heliport is limited, but the most recently available Department of Transportation show 1,696 arrivals and departures. That number hasn’t exceeded 2,600 since 2011.
The heliport’s last official tenant, IU Health, agreed to cease operations there eventually in a deal finalized with the IAA in June. Public and private companies still use the site and may do so until it closes.
MLS commissioner says expansion not imminent, but Indy doing right things
MLS commissioner Don Garber says expansion not imminent, but Indy doing right things
What happens next?
It’s not known exactly when the heliport will close. IU Health’s LifeLine emergency medical transportation will continue to operate at the heliport through 2025 before it moves to the Indianapolis Regional Airport at the corner of West Airport Boulevard and North Aviation Way in Buck Creek Township, some 18 miles east of downtown.
Other outstanding heliport infrastructure, such as hangars or fueling stations, will move to the Indianapolis International Airport or another airport in the area, according to the FAA letter. State officials have expressed concerns over the future of electric helicopters, or EVTOL, if the site closes. According to the agreement, the IAA will build a vertiport site at Indianapolis International Airport to support EVTOL use around Indianapolis.
The IAA signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021 giving the city exclusive rights to purchase and redevelop the site. Under the FAA agreement, the IAA must provide two appraisals and an independent review appraisal within six months of the closing date to determine a fair market value. After that, the airport must publicly sell the land at that value and reinvest the money into the Indianapolis Regional Airport. The Indianapolis Airport Authority also operates the Eagle Creek Airpark, Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport and Hendricks County Airport.
As for a potential soccer stadium, the State Budget Committee is expected to vote on a proposal to create a special taxing district at the site in the coming months. The city has said an MLS ownership group would be announced before such a vote takes place.
The city has been quietly inquiring about multiple buildings within the tax district. On Wednesday, the city will consider buying a surface parking lot in the stadium taxing district.
Alysa Guffey covers growth and development for IndyStar. Have a business story or tip? Contact her at amguffey@gannett.com.
Indianapolis police shoot homicide suspect on South Harding Street
Indianapolis police shot a homicide suspect after a pursuit ended near I-70 on May 28, 2026. The suspect is in stable condition.
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Indianapolis police shot a homicide suspect after a vehicle pursuit that ended west of downtown near Interstate 70.
Just before 8:30 p.m. May 28, 2026 Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were dispatched to a shooting in the first block of North Rural Street. Arriving officers found Patricia Wieber, 65, with gunshot wounds. Wieber was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital.
Witnesses were able to give police information about the shooter and officers tracked the suspect to the 7500 block of Bullock Court on the city’s south side. The suspect, identified by police as Ronald Cross, 75, got into a different vehicle with another man. While tracking that vehicle officers attempted a traffic stop near West Southport and Bluff roads. The driver, who is not implicated in the homicide, got out of the vehicle without incident and was taken into custody.
Police said Cross then slid into the vehicle’s driver seat and fled. Officers used stop sticks and then in the 1000 block of South Harding Street near I-70 a SWAT officer used a vehicle to perform a PIT maneuver to stop the SUV, said Kendale Adams, IMPD deputy chief of criminal investigations.
After the vehicle was stopped officers shot the suspect, Adams said. Cross was taken to the hospital in stable condition. No officers were injured.
Adams said two firearms were located at the scene.
During a news conference at the scene, Indianapolis police chief Tanya Terry extended her thoughts to the family of Wieber who was killed in what police believe was a domestic violence situation. She also praised her officers’ handling of the situation.
“[Our officers] did exactly what our community expects them do to in situations like this,” Terry said. “Our officers worked with bravery, coordination and precision in their attempts to safely bring the suspect into custody. I’m extremely proud of them for the work that they’ve done.”
The chief added that Cross would be facing charges in the case and police confirmed hours later that Cross was arrested on a murder charge.
The shooting involving police was among a string of shootings across the city, including one downtown roughly two hours before that left a man in critical condition.
“It’s been a difficult night for our city,” Terry said.
The officers involved in shooting Cross have been placed on administrative leave, per department policy. The Civilian Use of Force Review Board will have a hearing on the shooting and body and dash cameras were activated during the shooting, Adams said.
It is unclear whether Cross fired at officers and what makes and models of firearms were found by police.
Asked those questions by IndyStar, an unnamed IMPD spokesperson did not provide additional information and instead referred to a press release that did not contain the answers.
This is the fourth shooting involving Indianapolis police since the start of the year.
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Get more information of shootings involving Indianapolis police here.
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José Plasencia brings Cuban cuisine to Fountain Square’s Inferno Room
Cuban food never got the opportunity to evolve. Now at the Inferno Room, José Plasencia is giving his homeland cuisine a second chance.
A standout burger can come from unexpected places, as evidenced by one Indianapolis restaurant whose unconventional take on the American classic has earned it a spot on a national USA Today list.
There’s only one burger on the menu at the recently reimagined Inferno Room in Fountain Square, but it’s a good one.
Chef José Plasencia’s rendition of the Cuban frita, a beef-chorizo burger defined by a topping of fried shoestring potatoes, joined heavy hitters from across the country on USA TODAY’s pantheon of patties.
The USA Today list included places like Mr. Bartley’s Burgers, a veritable institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts as well as Jay’s Burgers in Louisville and Sacred Beast in Cincinnati.
Indianapolis’ best-known burger spot, the more than century-old Workingman’s Friend, did not make the national list but appeared alongside the Inferno Room on USA TODAY’s roundup of exemplary Midwest burgers. Both were featured on IndyStar’s list of 10 burgers to try around town.
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