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Many steps to go on plan for Major League Soccer stadium

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Many steps to go on plan for Major League Soccer stadium


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis City-Council committee on Tuesday night voted to advance the plan for a Professional Sports Development Area to help fund a proposed Major League Soccer stadium in downtown Indianapolis near Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The council’s Rules and Public Policy Committee voted 6-4 to recommend the proposal to the full council. One councilman abstained. The council will consider the proposal June 3.

Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett last month announced the downtown site for a MLS stadium just under a year after the city government backed another soccer stadium project.

The Eleven Park project, estimated at $1.5 billion, was being built on land previously owned by The Diamond Chain Co. along the east shore of the White River between West Washington Street and Kentucky Avenue. Plans call for a stadium with 20,000 seats, plus offices, apartments, a hotel, retail space, and a parking garage.

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The Eleven Park project has come under fire after human remains from a former city cemetery have been found on the site.

Tuesday’s committee meeting included extensive back and forth between council members on the committee, and the city employees who explaining the proposed tax district for what’s known as the Pearl Street site near Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The city employees say, no matter the outcome of the vote for the tax area for the Pearl Street site, the city won’t move forward with the original plan to help build Eleven Park as a future home of the city’s United Soccer League teams, both called Indy Eleven.

That concerned Council Minority Leader Brian Mowery. The Republican said, “I am also concerned with the message this sends to the business community at large as well, that we are willing to start negotiations and back out completely at the last minute and turn it around on you, and what message that sends to the community.”

Council President Vop Osili, a Democrat, said he voted “yes” Tuesday because the Pearl Street site is the city’s best shot at getting a MLS team. “This city wants to have an MLS team, and the city could benefit from it. But, it was also clear tonight that we work as hard as we can to make something great come from the Diamond Chain site.”

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During a public hearing at the Tuesday committee hearing, the leader of the Brickyard Battalion, the fan group for the Indy Eleven, said he felt betrayed that the city backed out of the project.

David Ziemba, the group’s president has been outspoken about wanting to see the Eleven Park come to fruition. “It’s all about compromise and doing what’s best for the citizenry and your constituents, and, right now, we’re not really seeing that play out.”

If the full City-County Council passes the tax district proposal, it will head to the Metropolitan Development Commission again. It next would face state approval if the commission approved it.

Statements

Tonight, our community engaged in a robust conversation on the future of soccer in Indianapolis and emerged one step closer to pursuing the vision to bring a Major League Soccer expansion club to our city.

I want to thank the passionate residents who shared their perspectives tonight, as well as the members of the City-County Council’s Rules and Public Policy Committee for supporting Proposal 175 in a bipartisan way, showing that they believe in the potential to solidify our status as the greatest sports city in the country. As this process moves forward, I look forward to continuing the conversations with City-County Councilors, state leaders, and members of our community as we work together – in the Indianapolis way.

Mayor Joe Hogsett, (D) Indianapolis

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We are heartened by the compelling support Indy Eleven and Eleven Park received this evening and continues to receive. Tonight’s meeting showed a troubling lack of details from city officials as to the why and how of their decision making, and it is our hope that the full Council will stand up for their constituents and taxpayers and demand transparency as Indianapolis prepares to walk away from its commitments to near Westside neighborhoods. 

Alexandra Miller, Spokesperson for Keystone Group

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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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