Pacers plaza to open with games, music, giveaways
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Pacers Sports & Entertainment announced the official grand opening of the Bicentennial Unity Plaza with a weekend full of free events to the public later this month.
Community leaders will cut the ribbon at 10 a.m. Aug. 24 at the Bicentennial Unity Plaza, which is north of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Following the ribbon-cutting, there will be the Indiana Fever Pre-Game Party with live music, games, giveaways, face painters, balloon artists, and more. No tickets are required for entry.
The plaza will have interactive sculptures and large-scale public art, a basketball court that converts to an ice-skating rink in the winter, and other spaces that will be programmed for community events and activities throughout the year.
“Bicentennial Unity Plaza is a canvas, literally and figuratively, in our downtown, a place where Indy’s eclectic arts and culture will be on display and the backdrop against which visitors can celebrate our shared values. I am so grateful to the CIB for their partnership and leadership and to Lilly Endowment for its generosity in helping bring this vision to life.”
Rick Fuson, Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO
The following days will be filled with activities for visitors of all ages:
- Friday, Aug. 25: Happy Hour on the Plaza; 5-9 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 26: Indy Night Market on the Plaza; 5-10 p.m.
- Sunday, Aug. 27: Jr. Hoops Mini Clinic, 1-3 p.m.; Love of the Game, 1-5 p.m.
Later this year, an unveiling of the completed mural of 43 of the most prominent people who helped shape Indianapolis will be on the east wall of the Steak n’ Shake Building overlooking the plaza. The leaders featured on the mural were selected from a group of 200 from 1820-2020 by a 40-person committee. The list only included those who have died.