Mark Alesia

IndyStar

It was seemingly the start of "Stadium 3.0" — the Indy Eleven soccer team's third try in the state legislature for a long-term home.

A bill for $20 million in publicly backed bonds to be used for renovation of IUPUI's Carroll Stadium was filed last week, had a cost analysis dated Dec. 31, and was sent to a committee Jan. 7.

But on Monday, the bill's sponsor, Rep. Todd Huston, R-Fishers, said through a spokesman that the bill had been filed by mistake and would be replaced by a teacher compensation bill.

"There was a miscommunication with my staff and a bill I did not intend to be filed was mistakenly filed," Huston said in a statement.

The move leaves unclear where the team, which has sought state funding for a new stadium in the past two sessions, might turn next for funding. Indy Eleven said in a statement that it is still hoping for a stadium deal to pass in this legislative session. It said House Bill 1108 was "filed prematurely and withdrawn."

The statement said the team is working with the new administration of Mayor Joe Hogsett on the issue.

"We look forward to continuing to work with local and state officials to establish details for a stadium proposal that will be responsible to the taxpayers of Indiana and result in a positive outcome during this legislative session," the statement said.

During last year's legislative session, Huston filed a bill for an $82 million soccer stadium. The team released glitzy renderings of a modern-looking facility.

Stadium proponents argued that a modern soccer stadium is the next step in the evolution of Indianapolis as a sports town. Critics were concerned about taxpayers having to pick up the tab if tax money captured from the stadium — and a Downtown hotel being developed by team owner Ersal Ozdemir — wasn't enough to pay debt service.

The bill passed the House but was changed substantially in the Senate.

The Senate version would have funded stadium renovations at IUPUI instead of building a new stadium. Carroll Stadium was built in 1982. That failed to make it through a conference committee on the last day of last year's legislative session.

An Indiana University official testified that the cost of a new stadium on the Carroll Stadium site would be $50 million to $60 million.

In 2014, before playing a single game, the Indy Eleven pushed a stadium bill that eventually stalled in the Senate.

Call IndyStar reporter Mark Alesia at (317) 444-6311. Follow him on Twitter: @markalesia.