Keystone holds groundbreaking ceremony for $1B Eleven Park
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Keystone Group on Wednesday hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for Eleven Park, a $1 billion development that’s set to include a 20,000-seat stadium, office space, apartments, retail, parking and public spaces on the southwest side of downtown Indianapolis.
The project is set to occupy the 20-acre Diamond Chain manufacturing site along Kentucky Avenue, just blocks from Lucas Oil Stadium, with some portions—including the stadium—expected to be completed in mid-2025. Demolition on the Diamond Chain facilities has not yet started.
The ceremonial groundbreaking marks a milestone for Keystone and Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir, who has sought to build the team its own stadium since 2015. At that time, a project was proposed for the General Motors stamping plant site across the White River, where Elanco Animal Health is now building its headquarters.
Wednesday’s ceremony was attended by state and local officials including Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, City-County Council members Vop Osili and Kristin Jones, Attorney General Todd Rokita, Secretary of State Diego Morales and several state legislators.
The project now is set to include more than 600 apartments, 205,000 square feet of office space, 197,000 square feet of retail space and restaurants, a hotel, public plazas and green space and thousands of parking spaces. It will also feature a 4,000-seat event venue.
“Now rising from a formerly underutilized portion of our downtown, Eleven Park is a transformational riverfront development that will make a permanent mark on our city’s skyline and its impact will be felt by generations of supporters, visitors and residents who will soon be able to enjoy its world class amenities,” Ozdemir said in prepared remarks.
“With this groundbreaking, we are thrilled to mark a crucial milestone in the project, creating a new live, work, and play neighborhood for our city and region that has been a decade in the making.”
The project in 2019 received a boost from the Indiana State Legislature, which approved the creation of a new professional sports development area that allows for taxes to be captured to help pay for the stadium, as long as Ozdemir foots at least 20% of the bill for the structure.
The project’s lead designer is Populous, while Browning Day is the architect of record. AECOM Hunt will be the construction manager for the stadium portion of the development.