Pacers, Indianapolis Officials Ink Deal For Arena Overhaul

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers will stay in Indianapolis for 25 more years in a deal that includes $295 million in public subsidies for a renovation and expansion of the NBA team's downtown arena.

The Marion County Capital Improvement Board voted Friday in favor of the agreement that comes as state legislators are negotiating a plan to divert state and local income and sales tax revenue generated by several downtown hotels toward the Bankers Life Fieldhouse project.

The deal calls for the Pacers to pay $65 million toward the renovations, which will feature construction of a year-round outdoor plaza in place of an existing parking garage next to the arena.

It commits the board to spending up to $120 million on technology upgrades at the fieldhouse, which opened in 1999.