Indy Eleven looks ahead to another try for stadium

"Indy Forever" is used frequently as a hashtag — and on a hoodie — related to the Indy Eleven soccer team.

It also describes the team's continuing preference for a stadium site — Indy, not the suburbs.

After this year's Statehouse pitch for a stadium by the North American Soccer League team stalled in a conference committee, Rep. Todd Huston, R-Fishers, the bill's sponsor, said the team would consider its options "as far as facilities and communities."

Fishers Forever? Westfield Forever?

Not likely.

"I don't believe that's in the best long-term interest for Indianapolis, Indiana or for Indy Eleven," team President Peter Wilt said of a suburban location. "You never rule anything out, but this project wasn't just about Indy Eleven. It's about the community at large and having a strong Downtown Indianapolis."

As president of the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer, Wilt saw the impact of a two-year move to suburban Naperville while Soldier Field was renovated.

"The suburban fan base increased significantly, but we lost the ethnic support from the Polish and Mexican communities, and the millennial support wasn't as strong as it was in Soldier Field," Wilt said. "We didn't lose it, but it went down. I think it's safe to say a suburban relocation would have a similar effect in Indianapolis."

Indy Eleven, which used support by millennials as a selling point with lawmakers, will be back for its third try in the legislature. Wilt said the team was encouraged by lawmakers' willingness to engage on the issue and seek a solution.

Some variables, however, will change in the next debate.

A new Indianapolis mayor will be elected in November. Outgoing Mayor Greg Ballard was a strong supporter of a Downtown stadium. He spoke at a Statehouse rally in support of a bill passed by the House, which would have set up financing for an $82 million stadium at an undetermined Downtown location. Taxes captured at the stadium and at a Downtown hotel being developed by team owner Ersal Ozdemir would have paid for debt service.

Opponents questioned the team's financial projections and expressed concern that taxpayers would be on the hook if the stadium failed to perform to expectations.

The stadium bill passed by the Senate would have used $20 million for renovation of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis' aging Carroll Stadium — the team's current home after minimal upgrades. Anything beyond the $20 million would have had to come from the team, Indiana University and the city. An IU official estimated that a new stadium would cost $50 million to $60 million.

Asked about using city money for a soccer stadium, Chuck Brewer, the Republican candidate for mayor, said in a statement, "As a world class city and a sports capital, it's no surprise the most popular sport in the world is thriving here.

"Indy Eleven has brought new excitement to the city, and we will benefit from its continued success. We need to scrutinize the deal and strike a balance that realizes a return on investment while also recognizing many taxpayers are weary of government funding such projects."

A spokesman for the Democratic candidate, Joe Hogsett, first said in an email that the question was "speculative." After a follow-up, he wrote, "The range of possibilities runs from the city giving a soccer team 5 dollars or 500 million dollars. I guess I just don't understand how Joe could provide such a blanket statement of support or opposition to a proposal that doesn't exist yet."

Another variable in the next stadium debate is the role of Major League Soccer, the nation's top league. The NASL is a second-division — some would say "minor" — league. Stadium opponents questioned whether an expensive facility should be built for a second-division team in its second season of existence.

Until late last month, MLS had discussed expansion only up to 24 teams, with the top contenders already settled. But at a meeting of sports journalists, MLS Commissioner Don Garber talked about expansion plans beyond 24 teams during this decade.

"In the next six months, we've got to come together and develop a plan with our ownership to determine when we go further, because we will," Garber said. "We will expand this league beyond 24 teams. It's not an if, it's a when."

Garber surprised Indy Eleven officials, Wilt said, by mentioning that MLS has had talks with Indianapolis. The talks, Wilt said, were casual.

Joining MLS would require substantially more money from ownership. In 2013, Forbes estimated the average MLS franchise value at $103 million. The NASL's franchise fee was reportedly $750,000 at its outset in 2011.

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