Keystone says city is backing out of Eleven Park deal as mayor plans announcement
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Indianapolis-based Keystone Group accused Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration on Thursday of “walking away” from the company’s efforts to develop a $1.5 billion mixed-use district anchored by a soccer stadium along the White River—despite supporting the project publicly as it got underway.
In a lengthy statement issued Thursday, the Ersal Ozdemir-led company said the city has instead been “shopping” the state legislation that made funding for the soccer stadium possible as well as undisclosed publicly-owned land to potential bidders—without requiring that those bidders work with Keystone or Ozdemir’s Indy Eleven soccer team.
City officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Keystone’s statement. But the Mayor’s Office announced that at 5:30 p.m., Hogsett would make a “significant announcement about the future of sports in Indianapolis.”
Ozdemir lobbied for years for passage of the legislation, which authorized the Indianapolis City-County Council to create a professional sports development area that would capture tax revenue generated within it to fund a soccer stadium. After the legislation passed, Keystone Group purchased the former Diamond Chain manufacturing site on West Street at Kentucky Avenue for Eleven Park, which was to include the stadium, a hotel, office space, retail and apartments. Keystone broke ground on the project last June with a ceremony Hogsett attended.
“Unfortunately, after years of good-faith negotiations and recent bipartisan approvals from the City-County Council, Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration is preparing to walk away from the state and city leaders who entrusted him with this project and the neighborhoods who are depending on the progress Eleven Park represents,” the company’s statement said.
“These actions by Mayor Hogsett’s administration are a concerning departure from what the Indianapolis business community stands for: integrity, trust, and the expectation that one is true to their word,” the statement said. “A dangerous precedent is being set for how city negotiators conduct themselves.”
In addition to its claim that the city has stepped away from negotiations on the project, Keystone alleges that after the City-County Council approved the professional sports development zone that would help fund the project, the Hogsett administration “refused” to submit the accompanying map of development area to the State Budget Committee, a requirement for Keystone to secure funds for its proposed 20,000-seat soccer stadium.
The city did not immediately respond to IBJ’s requests for comment about Keystone’s statement. However, IBJ had previously requested an update from the Capital Improvement Board, which has been working on a financial report related to the PSDA. On Thursday, Monica Brase, a spokeswoman for the board, said that study had not been completed.
The PSDA had been expected to provide as much as 80% 0f the development cost of the soccer stadium, which was to be used for concerts and other events, in addition to soccer games. Most of the tax revenue that would have been captured for the PSDA was expected to be generated by business activity within Eleven Park.
The company also claims that the city has been “shopping” the enabling legislation for a stadium development, as well as undisclosed publicly-owned land, to potential bidders—with the possibility such a deal could replace the Indy Eleven as a professional soccer franchise in Indianapolis.
This story will be updated.