Indiana Fever Reveal First Look at $78 Million Sports Performance Center Interior
The 108,000-square-foot facility will open in 2027 as the WNBA’s largest dedicated team performance center, with Pacers Sports & Entertainment leaning into a spa-like, player-first design that expands the definition of modern athlete hospitality.
The Indiana Fever has released a first look at the interior of their $78 million Sports Performance Center, a three-story, 108,000-square-foot project in downtown Indianapolis that is set to open in 2027 as the largest dedicated team facility in the WNBA. Designed by Populous and being built by Shiel Sexton, the building is rising near Gainbridge Fieldhouse as part of Pacers Sports & Entertainment’s broader investment in women’s basketball infrastructure.
The interior program is built around two naturally lit practice courts connected directly to strength and conditioning, sports medicine, rehabilitation, and recovery areas. The recovery suite includes hydrotherapy pools, an infrared sauna, red light therapy, massage rooms, and treatment space, while the locker room is designed as a luxury player environment with individual player studios intended to give athletes more room for preparation, recovery, and personal expression.
Sports Business Journal reported that the design follows the spa-like aesthetic increasingly showing up in women’s professional sports training environments, and the Fever’s own release adds a long list of support amenities that push the project beyond a traditional practice facility. Those include a full-service kitchen built around a chef-driven nutrition program, a nutrition and smoothie bar, indoor and outdoor dining areas, a content production studio, podcast room, hair, nail & makeup salon, golf simulator, and dedicated childcare facilities.
The first floor also includes public-facing elements, including a lobby and Hall of Excellence dedicated to franchise history, along with a team store. That mix gives the building a dual role as both a high-performance environment for players and a branded extension of the Fever’s growing business presence in Indianapolis.
The project was first announced in January 2025, with construction expected to begin in August 2025 and the facility opening before the 2027 WNBA season. At the time, Pacers Sports & Entertainment said the building would connect to the Virginia Avenue Parking Garage and the Gainbridge Fieldhouse campus, reinforcing how closely the Fever’s training base is being integrated into the organization’s downtown footprint.
Taken together, the interior plan shows how the Fever are building around both performance and player experience. Rather than limiting the project to courts, weights, and treatment rooms, the facility layers in dining, content creation, childcare, and personal care spaces that make the building function more like a full-service athlete environment. In that respect, the project is as much about retention, recruitment, and daily player support as it is about basketball operations.
