Michael Pointer

michael.pointer@indystar.com

About a mile from IUPUI's Carroll Stadium sits Lucas Oil Stadium, considered one of the nicest sports venues in North America.

But Indy Eleven President Peter Wilt isn't ready to move some of the team's games there yet — even with the team's overwhelming success at the gate and the fact the stadium might aid the process of bringing an MLS team to Indianapolis.

There's a good chance he never will be.

"A one-off game is a possibility," said Wilt, a former president and co-founder of MLS' Chicago Fire. "But for more than that, it's difficult for a number of reasons, including scheduling. That's probably the biggest thing."

The Eleven are expected to draw their eighth sellout crowd in as many North American Soccer League games Wednesday night when they host the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Carroll Stadium, which has a capacity of just over 10,000. Team officials and supporters plan to again lobby the General Assembly when it begins its session in January for help in building an 18,000-20,000-seat soccer-designed stadium.

In the meantime, Lucas Oil Stadium isn't an option except for perhaps one game a year, Wilt said. He dismissed a suggestion that it could even be a temporary home in order to elevate the Eleven to MLS, noting that even in that higher-level league, the move is toward soccer-friendly stadiums seating around 20,000.

That is not across the board. The Seattle Sounders average nearly 42,000 fans per game at CenturyLink Field, also the home of the Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks. But Wilt noted that is an exception, in part because Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen owns the Seahawks and has a minority share in the Sounders, ensuring the they get a fair amount of weekend dates.

"It's an amazing situation," Wilt said. "It's a unique market. As wonderful as things have been here in Indianapolis, I don't think 40,000 fans per game is realistic."

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has shown no interest in owning a soccer team and putting it in Lucas Oil Stadium. Even if he did, it still might be impossible to get a team full-time into the facility. Lucas Oil Stadium has a retractable roof — unlike in Seattle, which is an open-air stadium — and relies heavily on convention traffic.

"Conventions are the big thing," Wilt said. "They use it all the time and they block it out for a week."

Last Saturday, while the Eleven hosted a game against Atlanta, Lucas Oil Stadium was hosting a Jehovah's Witness convention. Stadium executive director Mike Fox returned a reporter's call while roaming the concourses during the event.

"In my opinion, in our market, we're really looking at Saturday night for soccer matches," Fox said. "That really shrinks it to 20 or 21 dates per year (that Lucas Oil Stadium could host soccer games). Then you have to take a look at the big picture and see what makes sense. Does it make sense to have a soccer match the night before the Indianapolis 500? Or if the Pacers are deep in the playoffs?"

Lucas Oil Stadium has hosted one soccer game in its six-year history, a friendly between England's Chelsea and Italy's Inter Milan last August during the International Challenge Cup, drawing a crowd of 41,983. Fox said stadium and local officials would like to host more and they are aware that Indianapolis is not just a burgeoning soccer market, but also can draw from nearby areas such as Louisville, Ky., or Dayton, Ohio.

Fox said he thinks the occasional friendly like last year's Inter Milan-Chelsea game would be popular again. (Wilt said Eleven officials tried to work to bring another International Cup game to Indianapolis this year, but could not work out a date with tournament officials.)

Fox also said Indianapolis might be a good fit to host matches in the Gold Cup, the every-other-year competition between countries in North and Central America. He thinks a game involving the United States would draw well, but so would one involving Mexico, especially with the growing immigrant population in Indiana.

"We think this market is unbelievably hot demographically for kids playing soccer, with young soccer fans, all the things that a promoter would want to sell tickets," Fox said. "We are tipping our toe in the water, but we're doing so cautiously."

Eleven officials also looked at the Butler Bowl (deemed too small) and Victory Field (not enough available weekend dates and obviously baseball-specific) before settling on Carroll. It isn't ideal. Portable toilets and food trucks must be brought in on game days.

But it looks to be home for the foreseeable future — and local soccer fans don't seem to mind some of the inconveniences, at least just yet.

Note: Eleven midfielder Brad Ring has been suspended for Wednesday's game after NASL officials reviewed game film and awarded him a red card because of an incident in last Saturday's game against Atlanta. Sergio Pena was originally awarded the red after officials ruled his maliciously took down an Atlanta player, but he is no able to play tonight.

Midfielder Victor Pineda is not available for Wednesday's game after being called up to the United States' U-23 national team for this week.

Call Star reporter Michael Pointer at (317) 444-2709.