The storied Indiana venues hosting the 2021 NCAA tournament
Indiana will be the center of the basketball universe next week. Here's a look inside the historic buildings that will play host to an NCAA tournament like no other.
Indiana’s Hallowed Hardwoods
March Madness is going to look a little different this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the first time a singular state will host the entire NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament -- and the NCAA could not have picked a better place.
Basketball to Indiana is what football is to Texas: a religion, a way of life, where you’ll find a majority of people on a Friday night. The state has produced basketball icons old and new -- think Larry Bird and Victor Oladipo -- as well as iconic hoops movies about more than just hoops -- think “Hoosiers.”
The historic gyms of Indiana come in different shapes and sizes. Some are in big cities, like the state capital of Indianapolis, and others are in tiny towns, like Knightstown, with fewer than 2,500 people, yet boasting one of the most famous gyms in the country. Some are older than the NBA, while others are younger than the NBA’s youngest players. But they are all connected through design elements, such as Indiana limestone, domed roofs and large glass windows.
Take a trip around Indiana and step into some of basketball’s meccas. These storied gyms that have produced household names for decades are now hosting the NCAA tournament, known for its legendary moments.
IndianapolisHinkle Fieldhouse The original Cathedral of Basketball, Hinkle is the venue by which every other Indiana gym is measured
When completed in 1928, Hinkle Fieldhouse -- then known as Butler Fieldhouse -- was the largest basketball stadium in the U.S. Renamed after the longtime coach and athletic director Paul “Tony” Hinkle in 1966, the fieldhouse is one of the most iconic basketball arenas in the U.S.
Former Butler guard Shelvin Mack said there was nothing like walking into the fieldhouse known as “Indiana’s Basketball Cathedral” on a Saturday afternoon for a game “with the sun coming in and [everyone] singing the Butler fight song.”
Mack played for the Bulldogs from 2008 to ‘11 before going into the NBA. He currently plays for Panathinaikos B.C. in the EuroLeague. In the 2010 national championship game, Mack’s teammate Gordon Hayward missed a half-court shot that would have given Butler its first championship.
“Butler family means family for life,” Mack said. “We still all talk to each other [to] this day. We have a text group and once a year we get on a Zoom call to just keep everyone updated on what’s going on in their world.”
That 2010 Butler team that clinched the Horizon League conference title at Hinkle Fieldhouse was also able to play in Indianapolis for the Final Four. "The buzz around the city was crazy and special," Mack said. Rob Goebel/IndyStar
In 2019, Hinkle underwent a $10.5 million renovation that allowed for air conditioning to be added throughout the building and padding on the upper deck bleachers. Much of that money also went to preserving the arena’s 1920s charm.
The original 1928 hardwood is still in use, but it -- and all the other tournament courts -- will be covered with a customized NCAA-branded floor for the tournament.
Ann Meyers became the first woman to sign a contract with an NBA team when she inked with the Pacers in 1979 for $50,000. She participated in tryouts for three days at Hinkle Fieldhouse in 1980. Jeff Atterbery/The Indy Star/USA TODAY Sports
Indianapolis architect Fermor Spencer Cannon used an innovative truss system to support the roof while at the same time providing spectators with an unobstructed view of the court.
Away from the court, through this door, Hinkle’s most modern touches hide. A $36 million renovation in 2014 overhauled the men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms, upgraded the weight room and added an academic center in the building.
The original court ran the direction of the structure, east to west, but athletes found the western basket hard to see in the afternoon sun. In 1933, the court was turned north to south and more seats were added in the process.
Hinkle’s fabled domed roof and red brick facade accented with Indiana limestone set a blueprint for future fieldhouses to follow.
KnightstownHoosier Gym Anyone who ever dreamed of taking the shot to win state can live out their cinematic fantasies at the “Hoosiers” gym
After roughly 50 years away from Hoosier Gym, Knightstown local Bob Garner returned in 2015, and he said to himself, “Why did I ever leave?”
“Walking in, it looks identical from when we played the last game there [in 1966],” Garner said. “Modern scoreboards, but other than that, it is the same place. The locker room is the same. That’s what appealed to me.”
Garner, in his words, warmed the bench for the last Knightstown High School team to play in what is now known as Hoosier Gym, because it was the filming location for the 1986 movie "Hoosiers." More than 70,000 fans still show up annually to live out their Jimmy Chitwood dreams, but it’s more than a gym now. It’s both a museum and a community center, where Garner has managed events since 2015.
“More than the gym itself, the physical structure is amazing, how well it’s been kept up,” Garner told ESPN. “It’s a remarkable place. It’s a can’t-miss visit in Indiana if you’re a fan of basketball.”
Other than Gene Hackman, who played coach Norman Dale, the actors who play the Hickory Huskers are Indiana natives, found at an open audition in Indianapolis. Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection
The real team on which “Hoosiers” is based was from 70 miles away in Milan, Indiana. The small-town team pulled off the so-called “Milan Miracle” to win the 1954 state championship. There is a museum dedicated to the ‘54 squad in Milan.
On display in the museum are the jersey, jacket and shoes worn by Whit Butcher, played by Decatur, Indiana, native Brad Boyle. Butcher is best-known for apologizing to Coach Dale and asking to rejoin the team after he walked out of a practice.
Casting director Angelo Pizzo told Indianapolis Monthly extras packed the stands for all scenes, except the title game at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The film crew had to set up a game between two top high school teams to entice fans, then shot the crowd after.
The Hoosier Gym floor dates back to 1932, and it is still in use. Pre-pandemic, the gym hosted roughly 80 high school games a year. Squads from all over the country have come to shoot on this sacred hardwood.
Coach Dale gave his inspiring pregame speeches and epic postgame rants from this bench in the basement locker room under the court.
It became tradition around three years ago for teams to leave a jersey behind to commemorate their trip to the Hoosier Gym. So many jerseys have been left that they’ve run out of room to hang them all.
BloomingtonAssembly Hall Indiana University fans pride themselves on making this one of the hardest places to get a road win
Assembly Hall opened the same year future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Knight made his head-coaching debut. The next season, a future College Basketball Hall of Famer, Quinn Buckner, arrived on campus. By Buckner’s senior year the Indiana Hoosiers were undefeated national champions. No team has repeated that feat since.
“I knew it was difficult for other teams to come play [at Assembly Hall]. You can sense when people are uneasy being there, because they knew the fan base was rabid,” Buckner told ESPN.
Known as the Carnegie Hall of Basketball, Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at Indiana University in Bloomington fits 17,222 people inside -- and opponents can hear every last one of them. It’s the sheer loudness of all the fans screaming, cheering, booing, watching players’ every move.
“In its truest sense of a fan, it was fanatical. It created a real positive effect for our team,” Buckner said.
Quinn Buckner is one of only eight players to ever win an NCAA championship, an NBA title (1984 Boston Celtics) and an Olympic gold medal (1976 Montreal Games). AP Photo/SLE
In 2013, IU alumna Cindy Simon Skjodt donated $40 million to rename Assembly Hall and upgrade the space. Renovations were completed by October 2014.
In 2014, an 8-foot-long metal beam fell from the roof, crushing a section of empty seats prior to the Iowa-Indiana game, which was subsequently postponed. Former athletic director Fred Glass blamed corrosion caused by snow and ice accumulation.
The Hoosiers men’s basketball team has a 606-126 record at home and five NCAA championships, including the 1981 title led by Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas. Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Getty Images
In 2018, Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller and Houston Rockets guard Victor Oladipo gave unspecified donations to renovate Assembly Hall locker rooms, update the training room and create a family center, players lounge and coaches annex.
IU has taken down giants on Branch McCracken court. The Hoosiers have beaten three AP No. 1 teams in Bloomington, including ending Michigan State’s 23-game winning streak on a buzzer-beater in 2001.
Banners behind the student section are a reminder of Knight’s three NCAA championships with the Hoosiers, but his legacy here is complicated by violent incidents that dot his tenure.
Students aren’t strangers to waiting in line to fill the general admission bleachers behind the south basket. Before COVID-19 distancing measures became necessary, getting to the arena at 10:30 a.m. for a prime-time Big Ten matchup was the norm.
French LickSprings Valley High SchoolBefore the world knew Larry Bird’s name, he and his younger brother Eddie were tearing up French Lick
Step into the gym at Springs Valley High School and the first thing you will see is Larry Bird’s various jerseys adorning the rafters. He was nicknamed “the Hick from French Lick” after all.
The yellow walls, wood beams and wood seats of the Springs Valley High gym witnessed the high school career of Bird, one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Now, the school is on Larry Bird Boulevard.
Todd Marshall, a lifelong resident of French Lick now serving on the school board, was five years behind Bird at Springs Valley. He remembers going to Bird’s games and seeing the packed gyms, full of the entire town, people from other towns and college coaches.
“One day in class during Larry’s senior year he told us we had to be quiet because he had a famous person coming by to see him,” Marshall said. “A little later there was a knock on the back door and in walked Bobby Knight.”
Marshall had keys to the gym as a student manager for the football and basketball teams. He would post newspaper clippings about the success Bird was having at Indiana State outside the locker room, and listen to the games with his friends on the radio in the gym while putting up shots.
“The Springs Valley High School gym was my sanctuary when I was in school,” said Marshall, who estimates he spent more time there his senior year than in the classroom. “There is nothing more satisfying, relaxing and meditative than to shoot hoops. Even today, to relax, I will go to our high school gym and shoot hoops.”
Larry Bird, No. 33, averaged 31 points and 21 rebounds and set the Springs Valley all-time scoring record his senior season. His younger brother Eddie broke it 12 years later. Springs Valley High School
Evansville-based architect Ralph Legeman is credited for the sunken floor design seen in a lot of Indiana high school gyms built in the 1950s and ‘60s, including Springs Valley. His underground bowl design was a low-cost way to house larger crowds.
Springs Valley’s first head coach, Rex Wells, cold called Walt Disney Studios and asked a cartoonist to create a mascot for the school. He agreed and sent a rendering back to Wells a week later. That drawing was the inspiration for this statue outside the gym.
“I would duck into the gym in between classes to get a few shots up and play again after school into the early hours of the next morning, feeling that sleep was a rude intrusion on my practice time,” Bird wrote in his book, “Drive: The Story of My Life.”
When Springs Valley opened for the 1957-58 school year, it meant that two bitter rival schools would be consolidated under one roof and one basketball team. The first-year team incredibly had a perfect 25-0 regular season.
During his days with the Boston Celtics, Bird didn’t forget about French Lick. Equipment and shoes for the Blackhawks were a part of all his endorsement deals.
Capacity at Springs Valley is 2,700, but 4,000 people packed in shoulder to shoulder to watch Bird’s final home game.
IndianapolisIndiana Farmers ColiseumPresidents, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famers and NBA champions have celebrated career moments inside this facility
The Coliseum has been a hub for basketball for decades. The first hoops game in the building was a 1942 contest between the Kentucky high school all-stars and the Indiana all-stars. It hosted high school state championship games between 1943-45, and was home to the Indiana Pacers for their first seven years and first three championships in the ABA. It’s now home of the IUPUI Jaguars.
Compared to its “cathedral” cousins, the massive space originally erected to show livestock gets a bad wrap. There still exists a ton of history within its walls -- even if it’s not all hoops-related.
The multipurpose facility hosts 150-plus wildly different events yearly. In addition to the Jags, the ECHL’s Indy Fuel also play their home games at the Coliseum. There have been rodeos, boxing matches, boat shows, high school graduations, presidential speeches and concerts. Lots of concerts.
When it was renovated in 2012, the inner structure was found to have been built with a two-inch gap between it and the exterior of the building. That meant everything inside could be gutted and rebuilt from within without disturbing the original facade. The result was a much needed step into the 21st century, but care was taken to make sure its present honored its past.
Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy famously gave a campaign speech at the fairgrounds in 1960. Former Indiana coach Bob Knight joined then-Republican candidate Donald Trump on stage at a 2016 rally here, too. Courtesy Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center
A section of 94 original seats was restored and reinstalled during a 2012 renovation. The section pays tribute to the Coliseum’s construction in 1939 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration.
While much of the inside of the arena was modernized during the 2012 renovation, the focus for the lobby was on preserving the original art deco details, including the original ticket windows.
Between 2014 and ‘16, Farmers Coliseum hosted a series of big-name acts during the Indiana State Fair. Meghan Trainor, Jake Owen and Gabriel Iglesias headlined the 2015 series.
The only time The Beatles ever played Indiana, it was to a packed Coliseum on their first North American tour in 1964. Elvis Presley, The Jackson 5, Johnny Cash and Sonny and Cher all played the Coliseum in the ‘70s.Courtesy Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center
Unlike the permanent floor at Hinkle or Mackey, the Farmers Coliseum court comes apart easily, making for a quick transition to hockey ice or, in the case of March, the NCAA’s tournament branded hardwood.
In seven years at the Coliseum, the Pacers won three ABA championships, went to five finals series and saw three future Hall of Famers -- Mel Daniels, George McGinnis and Roger Brown -- take the court. Courtesy Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center
The exterior and block windows were cleaned up but otherwise untouched by the renovation. The expanded lobby and corridor floors were replaced with a tile similar to the original terrazzo.
MartinsvilleJohn Wooden Gymnasium In Martinsville, the middle school and high school gyms are shrines to the greatest coach the game has ever known
Famed NCAA coach John Wooden, who won 10 NCAA national championships in 12 years as head coach of the UCLA Bruins, played his high school games at Martinsville High School. He led the team to a state championship in 1927 -- back when the population of the small town south of Indianapolis was less than 5,000.
“Basketball galvanizes small communities in Indiana,” Kip Staggs, current athletic director and boys’ basketball coach at Martinsville High, told ESPN. “Our community really wraps their arms around our teams. ... It’s completely like family.”
The population has since doubled, but Martinsville still loves its hoops. Pre-pandemic, there was nowhere else to be when the high school team was playing and playing well, Staggs said.
Martinsville built a new gym in 1977 and named it after their most famous alumnus. The original arena, pictured above, was built in 1924 and renamed Glenn Curtis Gymnasium after the head coach of those Wooden-led championship teams. It now functions as the home gym of John R. Wooden Middle School. Both places have the Wizard of Westwood’s memory all over them.
The original Martinsville High School Gymnasium, like the current one, held 5,200 spectators. That was more than both Purdue, where Wooden played his college ball, and Indiana University at the time. Courtesy MSD of Martinsville
“There’s still nothing like being in the locker room with your team prior to the game,” Staggs said. “... That’s a special moment when you, as a coach, talk with your team and make your walk out to the main gym floor.”
A mural wall dedicated to Wooden and Martinsville teams spans the entire length of the Glenn Curtis Gymnasium court.
The original iron beams and rafters are still visible inside Glenn Curtis Gymnasium, as is the original scoreboard.
John Wooden Gymnasium is a site for this year’s Indiana boys and girls state sectional and regional games. New bleachers and a new floor were recently put in for the occasion by the same group designing the Final Four floor and graphics.
A piece of the original floor hangs from the ceiling in the vestibule of Glenn Curtis Gymnasium. Portraits of Curtis and Wooden hang on either side of the doors into the gym.
There are photos, articles, trophies and other pieces of memorabilia in every corner of both historic gyms.
West LafayetteMackey Arena When something good happens at Mackey, you’ll know it. The Boilermakers’ home court is among the loudest in the Big Ten
All Purdue does at Mackey Arena is play basketball.
“You aren’t having concerts, you’re not having tractor pulls, there’s nothing crazy going on,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. “You just play basketball. It’s a great venue.”
Mackey Arena opened in 1967, originally as Purdue Arena before being renamed in 1972 to honor longtime athletic director Guy “Red” Mackey. The domed aluminum roof means it is one of the loudest venues in the country, when it’s full. Painter knows what advantage consistent sellouts, loud fans and a dedicated student section gives his team.
Painter cited the 2017 win against Indiana that won the Boilermakers a share of the Big Ten title as an example. He called the crowd truly “unbearable.”
“There are a lot of venues like that in the country,” Painter said, “but I think ours is one of the best, when you consider what we hear from our opponents with how loud our fans can get. It’s one of those special places across the country that gives you a true advantage when you play a home game.”
The circular shape of the arena also ups the noise factor. The Boilermakers previously played next door at Lambert Fieldhouse, which the track and field teams now use. Purdue University
The playing surface, named for former coach Gene Keady, has had to be replaced because of water damage twice. In 2005, rain was the culprit; in 2016 a water main broke.
The aluminum ceiling amplifies the crowd even more. The venue provides unobstructed views of the court from every seat.
Former Purdue All-American John Wooden brought his UCLA team, led by Lew Alcindor aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to Mackey for its inaugural game on Dec. 2, 1967. Rich Clarkson/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Most of Mackey has bleacher seating, but several sections of premium and club seating were added during the Mackey Arena Complex Project renovation from 2007-12.
The Purdue Boilermakers likely will be the only team representing Indiana in the NCAA tournament. They are currently projected as a No. 4 seed.
As part of the $100 million Mackey Complex Project, Purdue redesigned the court with all new logos and graphics. This diagram of the plans hangs in a utility closet near the court.
Purdue’s student section is traditionally named for the current head coach. Before Matt Painter’s Paint Crew, the crowd was known as the Gene Pool for coach Gene Keady.
IndianapolisBankers Life Fieldhouse The Indiana Pacers and Fever’s home arena was deliberately designed with "retro" touches that pay homage to legendary courts across the state
How many times does an arena open and host the NBA Finals in the same season? Bankers Life Fieldhouse became one of only six such arenas when it hosted three Finals games between the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers in June 2000. The place then known as Conseco Fieldhouse opened in the heart of Indianapolis seven months prior.
Rick Fuson, the Pacers’ president and COO, has been with the team since 1984 -- back when they were part of the ABA -- and has seen Bankers Life host everything from graduations to WWE events to Cirque du Soleil. But it’s basketball that means the most.
“I’ve lived Indiana sports, especially basketball, my whole life. It’s part of my heritage,” said Fuson, who was part of the large group that helped design and open what is now Bankers Life.
Fuson, who grew up in Indiana, took inspiration from the mecca of all Indiana gyms, Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University, when creating Bankers Life.
“People would say, ‘Why are you trying to make this new fieldhouse look like Hinkle Fieldhouse, because of the barrel roof?’ And I told them, ‘Well, I don’t think anybody’s mad at Tony Hinkle. He’s one of the greatest coaches of all time,’” Fuson explained.
Fuson remembers how special it felt for the Pacers to host NBA Finals games the year the arena opened. Indiana faced a Phil Jackson-coached Lakers team made up of legends like Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
“That’s a memory in itself, especially in a new building,” Fuson said. “We opened in November! We were learning on the fly.”
The Pacers lost the 2000 NBA Finals 4 games to 2, but won 2-of-3 at Bankers Life. “Some of my best memories were to see some of the Los Angeles fans disappointed,” Fuson said. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images
Bankers Life feels like a high school gym from the outside with its large glass windows and curved roof but is modern and sleek inside.
A lot of the Bankers Life design plans, including the ballpark-like seats and barrel roof, were modeled after one of MLB’s first “retro” parks, Camden Yards in Baltimore.
“To be able to open in November 1999 to what we believe is the best basketball gym in the United States, it was not only an honor but a pleasure to be part of it,” Fuson said. “We really encapsulated, in that building, the first retro-themed basketball gym.”
Tamika Catchings played 14 seasons with the Indiana Fever, who also call Bankers Life home, and led them to the 2012 WNBA championship. She is now the Fever’s general manager. David Sherman/NBAE/Getty Images
Bankers Life has hosted more than basketball -- hockey games, gymnastics, NCAA events, concerts, WWE events, Cirque du Soleil, rodeos, graduations and even auto-racing.
Bankers Life is currently undergoing renovations. The first phase was finished in January. An outdoor public plaza for concerts, games and an ice-skating rink are expected to be completed over the next two years.
‘“I didn’t think it could be better,’” Fuson said he told the group behind the renovations. “We’re still able to keep the same charm, we’re not changing all the bricks. We’re adding things to this to take it to a new generation.”
La PorteLa Lumiere School With three first-round NBA draft picks in three years, the secret is out on this boarding school in the woods
Off the beaten path in La Porte, Indiana, situated on a beautifully kept 150-acres is a half-boarding, half-day private prep school known by residents as La Lu.
Despite having an enrollment of less than 200 students from grades nine to 12, the La Lumiere boys’ basketball team is consistently ranked one of the best programs in the country. They were national champions in 2017.
Basketball stars left and right have been produced by La Lumiere. The past three years an alumnus has been taken in the first round of the NBA draft -- Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (No. 4 overall in 2018), Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (No. 28, 2019) and Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart (No. 16, 2020). At least five former Lakers will represent La Lu in the NCAA tournament, including Purdue standout freshman Jaden Ivey.
Marsch Gymnasium is a half-pipe-shaped, on-campus structure built in the 1970s to replace “The Barn” which now acts as a practice facility. As a prep program, the Lakers aren’t affiliated with the state basketball association. Instead, they host and travel to play top prep schools around the country.
Those matchups between the best high school talent in the country is a big reason why Marsch is among Indiana’s premiere gyms.
Marsch was designed in the 1970s by postmodernist architect Helmut Jahn. The Chicago-based architect is known for illuminated steel, oval roofs and full glass walls. La Lumiere School
The bowl shape of the gym, with bleachers all the way around the court gives the arena an intimate and intense atmosphere, when it’s full. When ground broke on the facility in 1977, it was estimated it would cost $521,000 to build.
Isaiah Stewart is the most decorated La Lu alum to date. He was a consensus five-star recruit, the Naismith Prep Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American. Catalina Fragoso/USA TODAY Sports
The team’s current No. 3 is junior 7-footer Vincent Iwuchukwu from San Antonio. ESPN currently ranks him 26th in the Class of 2022.
Because of its shape and intimacy, Marsch Gymnasium does feel a little like a version of Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse.
A lot more than basketball happens on this floor. Students have hosted an annual international food festival for the public here since the 1990s. Student orientations, graduations and intramural competitions go down here every year.
The Lakers are consistently vying for championships, and they have the banners to back it up.
You can understand why the original gym on campus is known as “The Barn.” The domed-roof lair is where head coach Pat Holmes runs practices.
IndianapolisLucas Oil StadiumThe “House That Peyton Manning Built” hosts its third Final Four this year
Lucas Oil Stadium, the site of the 2021 Final Four, opened in downtown Indianapolis in 2008 with 70,000 seats and a state-of-the-art retractable roof. The City of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana spent $620 million to build the stadium.
The Indianapolis Colts have had some of the franchise’s greatest moments at their home inside Lucas Oil Stadium, which has also been dubbed the “house that Peyton Manning built.”
Two of the most famous games feature the former quarterback, who spent 14 seasons with the Colts. The first was Nov. 15, 2009, when Manning brought his team back against the New England Patriots by throwing a touchdown to Reggie Wayne in the final 13 seconds. The Colts remained undefeated.
Manning also put together another juggernaut performance in the 2010 AFC Championship game, leading a comeback against the New York Jets in which he completed 26-of-39 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns.
Lucas Oil already has housed the 2010 and ‘15 Final Fours. The Butler Bulldogs came up a halfcourt buzzer-beater short of winning it all in front of the hometown crowd in 2010. Joe Robbins/Getty Images
The multi-use venue has hosted everything from soccer games to fire-fighting competitions to the Drum Corps International World Championships. The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots here in Super Bowl XLVI, too.
The sub floor is laid and ready to host first- and second-round games, the Elite Eight and the Final Four. It is also fielding the Big Ten tournament this week.
Peyton Manning was named a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer in February. Considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Manning was MVP of the Colts’ Super Bowl XLI-winning team. Rob Tringali/Sportschrome/Getty Images
The six large window panes -- yes, they move -- on the north end give an beautiful view of downtown Indianapolis.
The NCAA announced in February that attendance for all tournament games, including the Final Four, will be capped at 25%. That number includes players, coaches, support staff and players’ families. Fans will get the other available seats.
The red brick that is so recognizable in iconic Indiana arenas like Hinkle Fieldhouse and Indiana Farmers Coliseum also adorns the Lucas Oil facade and walkways.
“It’s awesome to work in a building that is such an important part of the Indianapolis economic and cultural landscape and that brings so much joy to so many,” Steve Campbell, VP of communications for the Colts, said.