FROM THE INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL

The owners of the Indy Fuel professional hockey team and Indianapolis-based developer Gershman Partners announced plans Monday to team up on a $40 million-plus sports, family entertainment and hospitality complex on 60 acres along Interstate 65 in Greenwood.

Indiana Ice Arenas LLC, owned by Fuel owners Jim and Sean Hallett, and Gershman Partners said they have signed letters of intent with Greenwood to develop the project south of County Line Road and are seeking an incentive package worth $8.5 million from the city.

Greenwood Sportsplex would be located on the southern border of the larger development. (Image courtesy city of Greenwood)

The development would be anchored by the $25 million Greenwood Sportsplex, a 175,000-square-foot facility with two ice rinks, two turf fields, five basketball courts, a fitness and training facility, pro shop, locker rooms and food service facilities. The turf fields would be convertible into two additional ice rinks and the basketball courts would be convertible into 10 volleyball courts.

The project would replace an earlier proposal by the Halletts to build a $20 million ice rink project on six acres in Greenwood’s Freedom Park.

Gershman said it would spend an additional $15 million on the initial phase of the overall development, which would include another 125,000 square feet of entertainment, dining, retail and hospitality projects.

The developer said it has early agreements in place with Xscape Theatres and Main Event Entertainment to serve as anchors for that portion of the development. Xscape operates multi-screen movie theaters, and Main Event operates bowling-alley entertainment facilities that also offer laser tag, billiards, bars and dining.

Ten outlots at the development would include a 200-room hotel, convenience store and restaurants. The site also could eventually include medical and office space.

Gershman, the developer behind Hamilton Town Center in Noblesville and The Bridges in Carmel, has been trying to develop high-profile piece of land in Greenwood since 2015. It initially proposed a $90 million development called Greenwood Town Center that would contain 700,000 square feet of shopping, dining and entertainment. But construction on that project didn’t get started as expected late last year after Gershman struggled to find larger anchor-type tenants, Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers told IBJ in January.

The sports complex, Xscape theater and Main Event facility appears to give Gershman the anchors it needs to get the project off the ground.

“The initial phase of this development would bring nearly 300,000 square feet of sports and entertainment facilities to Greenwood,” said Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers in written comments. “The project creates a focus for youth sports in the Midwest and positions our city to host a variety of regional and national events. It also provides a unique recreational opportunity for residents of Greenwood and surrounding areas.”

The Halletts had previously proposed developing a $20 million project called the Greenwood Iceplex on six acres in Freedom Park, south of Smith Valley Road between State Road 135 and U.S. 31 South. But the proposed location has not been met favorably by nearby residents and members of the Greenwood Common Council. A spokesman for the Halletts said Monday that Greenwood officials put design mandates on that project that made it “not financially feasible.”

In total, the Halletts and the Fuel expect to invest up to $30 million in the overall project, including about $25 million on the sports facility and other investments in the hotel and other developments, the spokesman said.

The Greenwood Redevelopment Commission is scheduled to hold a special meeting Monday evening to hear a presentation on the new project and the requested incentives.

Those incentives include up to $3.7 million for construction of site improvements, up to $1.8 million for off-site infrastructure improvements on County Line and Graham roads, and reimbursement of up to $3 million for capital improvements at Greenwood Sportsplex, payable over 10 years with continual operations.

RDC President Brent Tilson said he’s in favor of the project.

“This is a special opportunity for Greenwood,” Tilson said in a written statement. “The value to our city is immediate and will only increase over time. We’re confident this will spur accelerated development in both the immediate and surrounding areas.”

The RDC is expected to vote on the incentive packages during its July 11 meeting. The development also requires variance requests through the Board of Zoning Appeals and plat/site plan approval from the Advisory Plan Commission.

The developers said they would like to have definitive agreements in place by the end of August.

Previous attempts to develop the site have failed. Cabela’s pulled plans to build a store there in 2009, and GoodSports backed out of a plan for the site in 2014, when it couldn’t secure financing for a $22 million sports complex and hotel project.

Dallas-based Main Event Entertainment already operates one area venue. It opened a location this year in the north-side Rivers Edge Shopping Center previously occupied by Latitude 360. It operates nearly 40 venues nationally.

New Albany-based Xscape targets “underserved” markets in has suburban areas. It has multi-screen theaters in Florida, New Jersey, Kentucky, Ohio and Maryland.

FROM THE INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL

Full article

Indy Fuel owners Jim and Sean Hallett on Thursday announced plans to build a $20 million hockey and ice-skating facility in Greenwood.

Standing with Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers, the father-and-son duo said the a 115,000-square-foot Greenwood Iceplex would be built on six acres in Freedom Park, south of Smith Valley Road between State Road 135 and U.S. 31 South.

The official announcement added details to plans Jim Hallett revealed last month, when he told IBJ he had plans to open multiple ice rinks around the city and would make an announcement on a south-side venue in March. The Halletts said they’d like to make hockey, ice skating and other ice sports more available for central Indiana residents.

The Greenwood Iceplex is expected to feature two ice rinks, two turf fields that can be converted to two additional ice rinks, a fitness and training facility, locker rooms, retail space and a food-service area.

Freedom Park is also home to Freedom Springs Aquatic Center, which Greenwood officials said drew 150,000 visitors during its first two years of operation.

Under terms of the agreement between the Halletts and the city of Greenwood, the Halletts will lease the land for $1 per month and have agreed to invest at least $20 million into the facility.

The deal calls for the Halletts to lease the land for 60 years, Greenwood officials said in a press release.

“This is going to be a major destination,” said Sean Hallett. “We’re creating a first-class facility unlike anything else in the region.”

The facility is expected to be a destination for regional tournaments and events.

Myers praised the project as a milestone for the community.

“This is a game-changer, both for Greenwood and hockey in the Hoosier state,” said Myers. “The Halletts have clearly demonstrated their commitment, and we look forward to a long, successful partnership with Jim, Sean and the entire family.”

Jim Hallett told IBJ last month that he is looking to open more than one ice complex in central Indiana.

The Hallett’s manage the ice rink at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, which is home to the Fuel, a minor-league professional team. They also own and operate the Fuel Tank at Fishers.

Jim Hallett told IBJ in February that he and his son are in conversations with more than two area communities about opening ice rinks. He said central Indiana needs five first-class ice rinks to serve resident demands and to grow hockey and other ice sports, including figure skating, curling and broom ball.

“There absolutely is a pent-up demand,” he said.

Jim Hallett told IBJ he wants to do for central Indiana what Wayne Gretzky did for Los Angeles when he played for the National Hockey League’s Kings in the late 1980s and 1990s.

“We’re approaching it from the ground up,” he said. “Youth hockey provides the foundation, and it takes sustained financial investment and dedication to build and grow the sport at that level. It’s about creating an infrastructure for hockey’s long-term growth and popularity, and Greenwood is an ideal fit for this project.”

The nearby Center Grove area to the west is an affluent community and something of a south-side hockey hotbed, and could give the Iceplex a boost.

The Halletts said they’re convinced that by opening up area ice rinks, they’ll grow the Fuel’s fan base.

“Yes, Indianapolis has had professional hockey since 1938, but until now, no one has really invested in the sport,” said Jim Hallett, who grew up playing hockey in Canada and has lived in Indianapolis for more than two decades after coming to the United States to oversee the North American operations of auto-auction powerhouse ADESA Corp.

“Investing in the sport is investing in youth hockey—for boys and girls,” Hallett said. “That’s how you build the fan base and ensure your future, and that’s what we’re doing.”