Indianapolis Indians' new lease for Victory Field is rent free
The Capital Improvement Board on Monday unanimously approved a new 20-year lease for the Indianapolis Indians at Victory Field.
What's new under the deal? Free rent.
The lease would replace a 20-year agreement, approved in 1996 when the stadium opened, that requires the Indians to pay the Capital Improvement Board $500,000 a year.
CIB Executive Director Barney Lenvengood said the agency didn’t demand rent in the new lease because the first 20 years of rent paid off the debt from a bond issue used to finance the city’s $10 million investment in the stadium’s $20 million construction.
“That was the biggest thing, that the debt was paid off by the rental fee,” he said.
The Indians would still be responsible for day-to-day operations and maintenance at the park, as they are under the existing lease. The CIB is required to fund any major infrastructure repairs.
The existing lease expires March 31, 2016. The new lease would lock the minor league team into its Downtown home until 2036.
Already approved by the Indians, the agreement still needs the OK of the White River State Park Commission, which owns the land and the ballpark. The commission is scheduled to vote Oct. 21.
CIB Board President Earl Goode said attendance at Indians games has been so good that annual ticket sales taxes collected by the city, about $600,000 a year, exceed the rent.
The Indians this year drew 662,536 fans and have drawn 11,844,562 since 1986. In 2014, the team was second in minor league attendance. By comparison, the Indiana Pacers drew 691,434 and the Indianapolis Colts 660,289 in 2014.
“They’ve done a great job at developing a fine family tradition there,” Levengood said. “Kids come to the park and don’t even watch the game, just for the great environment.”
Goode said the no-rent deal is “consistent with what other pro-teams are getting” from the CIB, a municipal corporation that oversees the operations of Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where the Pacers play, Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Colts play, and the Indiana Convention Center.
The Pacers don’t pay rent to the CIB for use of Bankers Life, and the city pays for maintenance and operations. The Pacers keep all basketball revenue.
The Colts pay no rent for Lucas Oil, and the CIB is responsible for maintenance and security. The team keeps all revenue from football revenues and half of non-football revenue up to $3.5 million.
The Indians are a publicly held company and have been profitable every year since 1975. It made a profit of $1.6 million last year.
Under terms of the existing lease, White River State Park took ownership of the ballpark when the bonds were retired.
Call Star reporter John Tuohy at 317 444-6418 and follow on Twitter @john_tuohy.