Indy Eleven stadium bill has twist: Team owner must guarantee half of debt

The House is scheduled to vote on the Indy Eleven stadium bill Wednesday, after an amendment passed requiring the team owner to guarantee half of the debt.

The $82 million, 18,500-seat stadium would be financed by taxes generated by the stadium and by a Downtown hotel being developed by team owner Ersal Ozdemir.

The team says it's confident in its revenue projections, pointing to the success of soccer stadiums in cities such as Kansas City. However, there is also an underperforming soccer stadium in Chicago.

"The purpose of the amendment is simply to make sure the public is not left to foot the bill for an underused or empty stadium," Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, said Tuesday on the House floor.

DeLaney said he didn't ask for a 100 percent guarantee because he wanted a "fair and measured approach."

"I'm trying to be realistic," he said, "and make sure there's a substantial commitment without saying one party to the transaction — be it the state, the owner or the league or the city — is stuck with all the responsibility."

Rep. Todd Huston, R-Fishers, the bill's sponsor, supported the amendment, which passed on a voice vote.

Huston said "making sure particularly state taxpayers are at mitigated risk is important to all of us."

Another amendment — introduced by Huston — that passed included language to prohibit stadium money from going toward Ozdemir's hotel.

Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, argued for steps she said would increase transparency. That was defeated.

"I know the owner of the team," Pryor told her colleagues. "I think his heart is in the right place. However, we are talking about a team that's only been in existence for two years. So there are a lot of uncertainties. We don't even know where the exact location is going to be for this facility."

The North American Soccer League team has said only that the stadium would be in Downtown Indianapolis.

Huston said the stadium's finances will be "extraordinarily transparent."

"There will be multiple chances," he said, "at both the state and local level, for taxpayers to understand what the agreement is, understand what the lease agreement is, understand how the financing has been set up to make sure this is sustainable and in the best interest of taxpayers."

Huston reminded lawmakers that the bill is "enabling legislation."

"This is going to give the City of Indianapolis, the City-County Council and the team the option to negotiate and find a deal that works for all three entities with a modest state contribution," Huston said.

Call Mark Alesia at (317) 444-6311. Follow him on Twitter: @markalesia. Read his bio page and other stories.