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Hogsett: Major League Soccer an 'opportunity we cannot pass up'

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Hogsett: Major League Soccer an 'opportunity we cannot pass up'


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Thursday’s announcement that Indianapolis is pursuing a Major League Soccer team has sparked a very intense conversation about the sport’s future in the city.

Mayor Joe Hogsett said Thursday that he met with Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber earlier this week about brining an MLS franchise to the Circle City, adding that an ownership groups is already in place.

The timeline for the proposed MLS team is unclear, as is how costly the expansion fee would be. There’s a bit more detail about a possible location for a new MLS-sized stadium: 335 E. Pearl St. in the heart of downtown Indy.

Indy’s pursuit of “the world’s game,” as Hogsett put it, has led to a lot of questions from soccer fans and residents alike.

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Many of the questions are about the future of Indy Eleven — the pro soccer team that’s played in Indianapolis for the last decade — and its Eleven Park project, a $1 billion development that’s already under construction between West Washington Street and Kentucky Avenue.

Hogsett addressed those concerns — and a few others — in an interview with Scott Sander on Daybreak.

Q: Why now? What’s right about this move?

A: I think the time is right. I think the efforts that have been made over the last 10 years have paid dividends and we’re now at a point where we have the ability to build a soccer-specific stadium downtown.

My conversation with the MLS commissioner on Monday morning couldn’t have gone better. No guarantees, but I think we have a very good chance of being a franchise.

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Q: MLS expansion fees are into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Who pays for that?

A: The ownership group. Public money would be involved in building a soccer-specific stadium, but in terms of the buy-in, that would be on the backs of the owners.

Q: You talk about a soccer-specific stadium. There’s a project already underway — Eleven Park. Is that still part of this future idea? Are we building two soccer stadiums?

A: We’re not building two soccer stadiums. We’re just gonna build one. But where that goes is largely dependent on what MLS is going to expect, what the ownership group wants to involve itself with — we’re trying to give as many opportunities to MLS as we can possibly give them.

Q: The Brickyard Battalion and other Indy Eleven fan groups are not happy with you. They’re furious. Talk to them.

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A: Major League Soccer is an opportunity that we cannot, as a community, pass up. I can’t guarantee that MLS will ultimately award a franchise to Indianapolis, but at the same time, passing up the opportunity is not acceptable for a “major league city” like Indianapolis.

Q: Does this mean the Indy Eleven Park project idles? Does it move forward?

A: That’s entirely up to my friend Ersal Ozdemir (owner of Keystone Group and Indy Eleven). We’re committed to building a soccer stadium that is soccer-specific. What we’re doing is focusing on bringing a third major league franchise to the city of Indianapolis. We deserve and need an MLS franchise.

Q: What makes you think that a strong and passionate soccer base can grow to enough to fill a stadium on a random Tuesday?

A: It’s the world’s game and it’s increasing exponentially. With all do respect to baseball and basketball and football, soccer is the wave of the future and that’s why we want to be in the mix for a new franchise.

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Q: Is there any way the Indy Eleven are elevated into this franchise? Can it become part of the future that you see?

A: That would be up to the Indy Eleven. Major League Soccer will welcome any and all people who are willing to participate. Working in conjunction with one another will make us more competitive.

Click on the video at the top of this story to watch the full interview.



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Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis councilman says ‘No Data Centers’ note was left at his home after someone opened fire

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Indianapolis councilman says ‘No Data Centers’ note was left at his home after someone opened fire


The home of a councilman in Indianapolis was shot at early Monday in what local police said was an “isolated, targeted incident.”

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The incident came less than a week after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission voted 6 to 2 on April 1 to approve rezoning to allow the construction of a data center.

Ron Gibson, a Democrat who represents District 8 on the council, spoke out in support of the rezoning and the efforts to build the data center in his district.

“Earlier this morning, between approximately 12:45 a.m. and 12:50 a.m., just a few hours after Easter Sunday, an individual fired 13 rounds at the front door of my home and left a note on my doorstep that read, ‘No Data Centers,’” Gibson said in a Monday statement.


“No Data Centers” note, according to a photo taken by Councilman Ron Gibson. 

Councilman Ron Gibson

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The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said it was called to the home on Monday morning, and officers found evidence that gunshots had been fired at the house. Police said no injuries were reported.

“I understand that public service can bring strong opinions and disagreement, but violence is never the answer, especially when it puts families at risk,” Gibson said in his statement.

The Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

The data center is set to be built by Metrobloks, a data center developer based in Los Angeles. Following the vote last week, Gibson shared a statement on social media promoting the project.

“Metrobloks has the potential to bring significant investment, create jobs, and generate long-term tax revenue that supports infrastructure, housing, and essential services,” the statement said.

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A data center boom is happening across the US, with companies pouring billions into building the infrastructure to keep up with demand in the era of AI. The data centers have faced increased opposition, with critics pointing to the high resource costs, from water to energy, and other issues like noise pollution, as detailed in a Business Insider investigation.





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Recorder Rewind: NCAA Division III basketball championship (Photos)

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Recorder Rewind: NCAA Division III basketball championship (Photos)


The University of Mary Washington men’s basketball team won the 2026 NCAA Division III national championship on April 5, defeating Emory University 75-73 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to secure the first national title in program history.



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Indianapolis City-County Councilor says IMPD officer shoved him during protest

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Indianapolis City-County Councilor says IMPD officer shoved him during protest


INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis City-County Councilor says he was shoved by a police officer during a protest Saturday night.

In a post on Facebook, Jesse Brown — who represents council district 13 — indicated that a member of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department approached a group of protestors and began shoving and grabbing them.

“Tonight, an IMPD officer approached a group of protestors from behind/beside them, did not identify himself or issue verbal orders, but started grabbing and shoving people and cussing at them to move (we were stuck behind other people blocking the sidewalk),” Brown wrote on Facebook.

Brown added that he asked the officer for his badge number and told him he was a City-County Councilor.

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“I told the IMPD officer who was shoving people that I wanted his badge number,” Brown wrote. “He refused to give it. I told him I was a City Councilor. He said that he didn’t care WHO I was and grabbed my arm to shove me as well.”

Brown finished his post by confirming that he filed a formal incident report on his encounter with the officer. He also offered some criticism for the officer in the final sentence of his post.

“Officers have a difficult job, but if this is how he treated two white male candidates / elected officials, I do not trust him to serve the public and de-escalate tense situations.”

Jackson Franklin, who is running for Indiana’s fifth district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was also involved in the incident. He made a Facebook post with greater detail on the incident.

Franklin said he, Brown and others were protesting near Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of Saturday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four games. Franklin said he and other protestors were at the Final Four “to demand the NCAA stop using the same airliners that ICE uses to break apart and deport families in this racist injustice system.”

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A report from The Athletic that was syndicated by Yahoo Sports indicates that at least one airliner has contracts with the NCAA to transport student-athletes to tournaments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants.

In his post, Franklin said the officer involved in the incident “shoved/assaulted many of the protestors, including Indianapolis City-council person Jesse Brown.” Franklin added that the officer did not provide any warnings before he began shoving protestors

“I thought initially it was going to be some MAGA person just walking past that was offended by our anti-ICE chants, but I turned around and noticed that he was wearing a uniform,” Franklin wrote in his Facebook post. “It was only then he gave his commands to continue to move and he immediately went to push around many others, using his uniform as an excuse to harass those he disagreed with politically.

“There was absolutely no need for violence and the protest organizers filed a complaint, but I have no hope of any action occurring because of this complaint. While the lone officer assaulted us, there were about 10-15 other officers looking around awkwardly unsure of what to do, not protecting our first amendment right while also probably realizing the officer was way out of line and should have just asked us nicely to keep the movement on the public sidewalk going quicker rather than using violence as the first and only answer.”

FOX59/CBS4 reached out to IMPD for a statement on Brown and Franklin’s comments. As of this article’s publication, the agency had not responded to those inquiries.

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Brown has been at the center of multiple city-county council disputes over the last 14 months. In February 2025, Brown — whose district encompasses portions of downtown and the near east side of Indy — said the city-county council’s democratic caucus expelled him from their ranks.

Brown also introduced a motion to remove the council’s president and vice president in July.

As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the incident Brown, Franklin and others were involved in had been made available.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

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