Construction of Indianapolis soccer stadium hits unexpected twist (2024)

The construction of a soccer stadium in Indianapolis hit an unexpected twist when human remains were discovered on the site.

The Indy Eleven, a team in the USL Championship - the second tier in the United States - planned to construct its new $1.5billion home on a six-acre site in downtown Indianapolis.

However, the owners' plans hit a snag when the construction company, Keystone Group, unearthed 87 instances of human remains on the site earlier this month.

The site was most recently home to the Diamond Chain Co., which operated at the property for more than a century before its closure and demolition last year.

However, part of the property had previously served as a section of the historic Greenlawn Cemetery - the city's first public cemetery which opened in 1821.

Following the discoveries, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett offered to buy the property from Keystone Group - justtwo months after negotiations broke down between the parties for the development of the proposed Eleven Park soccer stadium project at the site.

The Keystone Group had hoped to have a combination of private and public investment into the $1.5bn stadium project but the City was reportedly only willing to put forth around $250million.

Hogstett claimed their rejection of the proposed funding was to protect the taxpayer.

'We were willing to put $250 million into a new stadium, but, for reasons that only Keystone could explain, they came back and asked for additional incentives. At some point, the taxpayers have to be protected, and that's what I decided to do,' he said.

Hogsett's administration ended negotiations with Keystone about the Indy Eleven stadium project on March 22. A month later, it unveiled its intention to bring a franchise in MLS - the tier above the USL - to the city.

The mayor said a publicly owned stadium and committed local ownership would be keys to the bid. An undefined ownership group is reportedly being recruited which could pay the MLS expansion fee, which is expected to exceed $500 million, according to Fox 59.

Hogsett's proposed site for an MLS stadium is said to be near the home of NBA franchise, the Indiana Pacers.

The city is interested in putting forth 'an offer that we hope can fairly compensate Keystone for its efforts', it said in a letter from Chief Deputy Mayor Dan Parker to Keystone Group and Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir, who also owns Keystone.

Parker added,via the Indianapolis Business Journal, that the city also owns an acre along the Diamond Chain site that is being used for the Henry Street Bridge project which alone isbelieved to contain as many as 650 remains.

The 'proper treatment of the remains on that one acre' could cost as much as $12 million, according to Parker.

'As we have learned more about this site, the city has sought to take an active role in an effort to right the wrongs committed more than a century ago when the resting place of Indianapolis' first residents were erased from the map and paved over,' he said.

'Knowing what we know now, any proposed future development ought to follow a painstaking and inclusive community conversation on the different perspectives on how to respect the history of the site and the individuals still laid to rest there.'

However, Keystone hit back last week, branding the mayor's offer to buy the group's parcel of land on the Diamond Group site a 'last-ditch effort to salvage the bungled rollout of a half-baked idea.'

A statement from Jennifer Pavlik, Chief of Staff and Senior VP of Keystone Group, read: 'For weeks, Keystone and Indy Eleven have requested to sit down with Mayor Hogsett's negotiation team, and the response has always been the same: rather than discuss facts and negotiate in good faith, city officials would rather spread misinformation through press releases and play games with your tax dollars.

'For more than fifty years, Indianapolis has achieved great success because it benefited from leadership that saw value in bringing the business and civic community together around bold ideas and big projects.

'Unfortunately, this current administration's embrace of divisive politics and bare-knuckle intimidation with the City-County Council that have no place in our city. We intend to correct the record as it relates to our ongoing efforts to work with the community to offer peaceful reinternment for those buried in a site that for over a century has been disregarded and disrespected.

'Rather than respond to Mr. Parker's last-ditch effort to salvage the bungled rollout of a half-baked idea, it is our hope Mayor Hogsett will once again retake the reins of his own administration and join us in a thoughtful, adult discussion on the future of soccer and downtown development in our state's capital city.'

The Indy Eleven, who currently play at Carroll Stadium, which is also home toIndiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Jaguarstrack and field and soccer teams, had hoped to move in to their new home in 2026.

The plans for Eleven Park were anchored by a 20,000-seat multipurpose stadium, intended to serve as the new permanent home of Indy Eleven.

The development was also set to include over 600 apartments; 205,000 square feet of office space; over 197,000 square feet for retail space and restaurants; a hotel; public plazas with green space; and public parking garages.

Keystone Group announced last Wednesday that the 87 burials discovered will be reinterred at Mount Jackson Cemetery andsaid a reinternment plan has been presented to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Department of Historic Preservation and Archaeology for review and approval.