Pacers Sports & Entertainment plans to ‘redefine’ WNBA All-Star Weekend
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowFor the second time in about a month, Indianapolis is preparing for one of basketball’s biggest spotlights when Gainbridge Fieldhouse hosts the WNBA All-Star Game.
“Our goal when we announced we were going to host this was to redefine how the WNBA looks at their All-Star Weekend, and I think we’re going to do nothing less than that,” Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines said in an interview with Inside INdiana Business host Gerry Dick. “[We’re] rolling out the orange carpet, as they say, at the WNBA for the best player female basketball players in the world.”
Visitors traveling out of or flying into Indianapolis International Airport are already being greeted by a basketball court in Civic Plaza. The court, 50 feet wide by 94 feet long, shares design elements with the hardwood court that will be used July 19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, including 19 stars representing the stars of the Indiana state flag and logos of the WNBA’s 13 teams.
A scavenger hunt began last week, which features 20 trivia-based challenges in 17 Indiana cities. Signing up at allstarhunt2025.com gives participants early access to clues—one hour before they go public for each designated city.
Besides the game itself, activities will fill the streets and venues of downtown Indianapolis during All-Star Weekend.
“It’s going to be every bit as exciting as [NBA All-Star Weekend] was with a lot less snow,” Raines said. “We have literally something for everyone that weekend. … It’s going to be a great celebration of basketball.”
WNBA Live, a fan festival, is scheduled for July 18-19 at the Indiana Convention Center. Three entry times—10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.— are designated for WNBA Live, which is billed as the “intersection of basketball, fashion, music and culture.” The festival will be open until 7 p.m. each day.
Tickets, priced at $25, can be purchased at ticketmaster.com. Admission is free for ages 12 and younger, but a reserved ticket is required.
Fever Fest, a new All-Star Weekend-related event, will pack four musical acts and four comedians into a three-hour show at Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park on July 19. A game watch party will follow.
There’s also the “All-Star Bounce” on July 19, which will feature 2,500 participants dribbling basketballs on a half-mile route from American Legion Mall to Monument Circle. There will also be activities on Georgia Street and at Morris Bicentennial Plaza, located next to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“The social, the community impact that we always want to have is bigger and better than ever,” Raines said. “I think just what we’re doing to involve our community is taking it to the next level, and I can’t wait for [WNBA Commissioner] Cathy Engelbert and the rest of the WNBA to get into town and see what we have planned for them.”
Raines says a groundbreaking for the new $78 million Indiana Fever Sports Performance Center is happening “soon” and she anticipates further investment.
“There’s a lot of potential in downtown, and Herb [Simon] is very bullish on it,” she said, referring to the Pacers Sports & Entertainment majority owner. “And, you know, we want to keep investing in the city that’s done so much for their family and for these teams.”
Indianapolis will also host the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2026 and the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2028.
IBJ arts and culture reporter Dave Lindquist contributed to this story.