SJ Obstructed Views – Indiana Fever – Gainbridge Fieldhouse 🏀 (ep.62)
[Music] Welcome everyone to Stadium Journeys obstructive views. We show where a couple of guys in a couple of countries drink a couple of beers and talk about a stadium somewhere in the world and their experiences there. I’m Paul and I’m Dave and we’re excited to be here with you tonight. So before we get started, make sure you subscribe to the Stadium Journey YouTube channel. Hopefully that’s where you’re watching this. Where else would you be watching it? Like the video, leave a comment, be interactive. Check out stadiumjourney.com for all of our fantastic content, including the review of the venue we’re going to talk about tonight. So, let’s get started before I take up too much time. Dave, what are you drinking tonight? So, I had one of those moments again. Recording obstructed views. Needed a beer. Went down to my beer fridge, pulled something out, went, I don’t have the foggiest clue where this beer came from or how it got in my fridge. But this is the beer we’re picking. Actually, it’s um I I picked it, I opened it, I started it, and then I researched it. So, this is a is a weird one. It is sounds backwards. Yeah, totally. It is from Rally Brewing Company in Thornbury, Ontario. And it is a dry run pale ale. Now, if you can see the number there, I didn’t notice this. It says 0.3 al% alcohol. So, this is essentially a non-alcoholic beer. It’s a very light beer. Yes. Very, very, very light. cuz most of your craft beers run between four and six, right? Yeah. Yeah. Or more. And um at the bottom it says electrolytes. So this is the Gatorade of beer. A Gatorade beer. So um you can have that beer after you run a couple miles or something apparently. And actually the um this brewing company I was on their website and they specialize in beers for the active lifestyle. So they have, you know, the electrolyte beer, the low carb beer, the localal beer. It’s like, we got that place. Yeah. So anyway, anyway, how’s it taste? It’s actually it’s very very fruity. It’s like a It’s like a kind of, you know, citrusy you like a Hogarten or whatever, but it’s pumped way up. It’s It’s much more citrusy than than anything I’ve I’ve really had before. But it’s pretty good. It’s light. It’s It’s super light. So, you know, I might just think about going for a run after this and then I’ll go to bed because thinking about running will make me tired. What do you got? Shouldn’t Shouldn’t you run before the beer, not after? Uh, maybe. All right. So, my beer today, um, mine is also has a little bit of story interesting story you tried to say. Um, yeah, we we took a little hiatus from recording. So, in during that hyeness, I kind of built up a stock of obstructive view beers because like you were just saying, sometimes you go to a place and you say, “Oh, that’d be a good beer for the show.” And you could have a fourack. And I always say, “We drink three and we save one for the show.” And so, I’m in the back of the beer right now scrging. Oh, we haven’t used that one yet. I haven’t used that one yet. So, we found one called the uh three Root Three Amigos. It’s a play. These lights are just reflecting off everything. There we go. Back here. Route Three Amigos Mexican Style Logger. So, it’s a play on the Three Amigos movie starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Chubby Chase. Hey, look at that. Um, yeah, and thanks for the dance. And, uh, it’s also a play on Route Three, which is a route that goes from Boston up through into New Hampshire. And all three of the breweries, it’s a collaboration. All three of the breweries are located on Route Three. So, Route Three, Amigos, it all makes sense. Um, and it’s from a place called I picked it up at a place called Epigram Brewing, which I have mentioned on the show before, but the collaborations is are is with the collaboration are the collaborators are or the collaboration is with Modest Roots, which is also in Tingsboro, Massachusetts, and Navigation Brewery, which is in Jumpsford, all along the route 3 corridor, if you’re familiar with the towns in and around Boston. Anyway, he’s Mexican logger. So, we’re recording this at the end of August. It’s Mexican loggers, as you may know, if you’re familiar with the type of beer. Very light, very summery. So, perfect for the season. And if you are visiting today’s destination, we might be drinking a, you know, that sentence is going to sound funny given the name of this beer. We might be drinking a blonde in the bleachers, Belgian blonde ale from Chile Water Brewing. Because today we’re talking about Cambridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, home of the Indiana Fever. That’s right, it’s our first WNBA obstructive views. Before we dive in, let’s take a look at the stadium vitals. [Music] So today to talk about the Indiana Fever, we’re joined by a Stadium Journey colleague Mark Vik who’s a resident of Indiana and who has been going to the Fever games since before it was trendy to do so. So um don’t forget if you want to follow Mark online, you can be found at Ballpark Hunter. So Mark, uh, right now the Fever are the hottest ticket in women’s basketball due to the presence obviously of Caitlyn Clark, but this wasn’t always the case. Well, I’m not talking about Caitlyn Clark. She’s only in her second season, but it wasn’t always the case that they were the hottest ticket of basketball. So let’s start by talking for a minute about the journey the Fever took to get to the big time where they are now. Yeah, I know. They started I think in 2000 and even when they had Tama Catchins and who was one of the best players of all time and led them to an actual championship in I believe 2012. Uh I should know that by heart. They weren’t getting 17,000 15,000 people a game. They might have been averaging somewhere between 7,500 to about 8,000. Right. Yeah. They were playing downtown right from the get-go, but they were kind of playing one of those deals where they were filling the lower bowl and not using lower bowl. I maybe some playoff games they were getting a few more folks. And then, you know, once that championship caliber team won and and dissipated and Tama uh retired, I mean, it was it was crowds of 4,000, allegedly 4,000, maybe even 3,000 going to the games there. And um I I think it got bad that you know the I mean they were giving away tickets to some folks. It just you weren’t talking about the fever. You were you were shocked that they were still around. And there was still a diehard fan base here. Uh but not enough to to get 8,000 7,000 people. And you know you heard all the jokes. Unfortunately guys around our age males they want to make jokes about the WNBA. We won’t we won’t say him here cuz I always got sick of hearing those jokes cuz these are professional women the best in the league around the world and you know I got to hear some idiot 50-year-old who you know came and do two push-ups you know and if he or if he got got out there on the floor against him would wouldn’t stand a chance. Exactly. Exactly. Against against some of these uh you know you know all-time great players. So it it was sad. It was just like well you know women’s sports in other countries you know succeed. They get bigger crowds. That’s why we have players going over there. been making more money and you know then lo and behold we we get Caitlyn Clark uh drafted by the fever a couple years ago and boom now phones are ringing off the hook season ticket sales are skyrocketing you there’s I have friends who are on waiting list like all of a sudden all my guy buddies who never went to a fever game and they’ve actually told me that never been to a fever game been here for 25 years they’re going to a game they’re sitting front court they’re buying merchandise you know I’m I’m a high school teacher. We have kids talking about Caitlyn Clark and it’s it’s phenomenal. It’s almost like, you know, when Ple came to the cosmos. Oh, good par good parallel. Rushing to see uh you know uh games at Giant Stadium. You maybe you can say that about uh uh about when Beckman came over for the Galaxy if uh you know several years ago as well. It’s all of a sudden people are paying attention to the sport and surprisingly the Fever are not even leading the league in attendance this year. That’s Golden State. So, it’s good to see that, you know, another team is succeeding at a high level with when it comes to uh attendance. That’s that’s amazing that Yeah. Um the presence of Caitlyn Clark and and the other women who have come in, it’s it’s kind of been like magic and bird in the 80s. It’s taken it taken the WNBA from also ran status or forgotten about status over in the corner of the uh the toy section over there to to really if not the mainstream but really right very close um not just in Indiana but across the league. Um like you were saying how how after Tamika Catchings left and she was one of the greatest players Yeah. in the history of the league and like you said three finals appearances one championship in Indiana. um when they decided to renovate the the building the the fieldhouse and they changed the name. I don’t know if it was still Canco back then or if it was game. Yeah, it was Canco then it went to Bankers Life and then Right. But the Fever because they play in the summertime, see you later, go find somewhere else to play for the summer. They had to bounce around Indie for a little while. They bounced around. I actually went to one of those games at Butler uh the Butler Field or Hinkled Fieldhouse. I I made a video on my YouTube channel, Ballpark Hunter, and they couldn’t even fill up half of uh the fieldhouse on the campus of Butler, and that was during a time when I think they were they Stranger Things came out. So, they had these specialized jerseys, they still do, and they were selling those. That was like their big claim to fame. That year, they uh they drafted Kaiser Gondic, who wasn’t even playing with the team by then. They had cut her uh by by the time I went to see her play. So yeah, and it was a fun atmosphere, $10 tickets, but it it wasn’t this excitement and they were doing a lot of minor league hokey things at the games and it was, you know, part of me was thinking, hey, maybe this is where the Fever should play because much smaller venue, maybe you get a different fan base coming in. And, you know, I think I went what, two years later to a game and balcony sections are sold out and it’s it was like attending a Pacer game. I did not I could not tell the difference. If you close your eyes and you squint, you can tell obviously, but Oh, no doubt. And they also played at the fairgrounds for a year or two, too, also, didn’t they? Well, it was one summer they played uh they they rotated. They played part of the year at at uh downtown at the fieldhouse game bridge and then I played a selection of games at uh I I forget at court hasn’t let’s just call the Pepsi Coliseum the fairgrounds coliseum that’s a historic name. They played a few games there. I didn’t go to a game there and uh I went to the Butler Fieldhouse. So I mean Hlefield Fieldhouse. So they actually played three venues. Yeah. summer they were they were kind of like the New York Giants, you know, got kicked out of Yankee Stadium and went to Giant Stadium. They’re bouncing around. And so the team bottomed out, number one overall picks two years in a row. In 2003, they get Aaliyah at Boston and then then they win the big one in 2004. They get Caitlyn Clark. And like you said, what a transformation. Um I’ve only been once to a Fever game. I was lucky enough to go in early July. Um well, and unlucky enough where she was injured and didn’t play, but still. It’s tough. The fieldhouse was banged out, filled to the rafters. In fact, our seats were in the last row on the end. So, we had the Bob Uker seats, but whatever they’re paying Caitlyn Clark is not enough because I would say 75% of the fans in attendance had a Caitlyn Clark jersey or a Caitlyn Clark hat or a Caitlyn Clark t-shirt on. It was unbelievable. Yeah. and and even the all-star festivities this year that uh coincided with the black expo which sort of kind of mashed up like a lot of stuff going downtown. Uh you saw a lot of kids out there with Caitlyn Clark jerseys. Now you you saw some away fans. I saw some Paige Buers and I I saw some pe some folks from Toronto rocking the future uh WNBA team. So u you saw the real fans. I think the real fans who came to the All-Star game and you like to talk to those folks because they’re the ones who have the really great insight. Uh there’s a couple girls I play kickball with. They’ve always had partial season tickets and they’ll sit there and they’ll watch a game uh after at the bar after a kickball game and then they’re screaming and yelling like like I’m watching the Mets play and uh it’s like these are the real fans there and they’re the ones who, you know, those are the ones we should be talking to. I think sometimes we talk to the the average fan or the newbie, which there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s not, you know, I get it. uh Caitlyn Clark’s this anomaly, this phenomenon, and it can happen in any sport. You know, it can happen in indoor soccer. You get somebody who just transcends the game and sells out everywhere they go. It can, you know, can happen in one of those arena football leagues as well. So, yeah, it’s it’s changed. It’s it is it’s a new era and I I don’t know how long this is going to last. Is it going to last until she retires? Until she gets traded or signs away? Is she going to be here 20 years like Subird or Diana Terrasi or is this going to build the next level like uh Bird and Magic turn into Jordan? Jordan Jordan turned into LeBron. Is it going to build and build? Is it going to have staying power? I mean look, that’s a great question. Yeah, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Toronto, uh Detroit, they’re all getting league expanding. Yeah. And we we won’t talk about the mess that is Connecticut because uh that deal that move to Boston is not a done deal because the league bylaws. We’ll save that discussion for another time. But um let’s talk about Indie. You mentioned the downtown. One of the biggest strengths of the fieldhouse is its location right in downtown Indianapolis which is such an underrated city and the downtown indie area is just fantastic. And I know anyone who’s watched the Stadium Journey podcast, we always talk about how great India is and how how much I I’ve always said personally that I wanted to get to spend some more time there to really explore it. And I got to this summer and I got to say it didn’t disappoint. There’s so much to do down there. Yeah. And yeah, you’re right. And it’s easy to get to by car. It’s easy to get to uh like by interstate, you know, it’s right off the interstate, but you do have that downtown feel. And I mean this year was even more insane because you had the Pacers in the the finals. So that’s right. But up until then, I mean, Caitlyn Clark had owned basketball in this town. Even even the Pacers championship run last year. Uh I think they probably eclipse it a little bit this year. Of course, she’s injured as well, which which kind of stinks. But yeah, going to going to a game. I mean, you are I’m not a huge fan of downtown compared to like Fountain Square or Massav. Those are not too far away. But if you get a hotel downtown and you’re you can walk to the fieldhouse, you can drink on Georgia Street with an open container. Uh there’s some local bars, there’s some regional chain bars, there’s some hotels with some nice uh second level bars, uh trendy restaurants, new little areas popping up. There’s construction right now in front of the fieldhouse. Uh I got to tell you, that’s exactly what we did. We stayed, our hotel was right next to uh Lucas Oil Stadium. Mhm. Um, so it was a 10-minute walk, maybe maybe a 15-minute walk to the fieldhouse. Um, you know, through a safe area. We did not feel worried. I mean, maybe a little sketchy in a couple spots, but nothing that made us feel worried. Um, as we’re going under the highway because you have to go under the interstate, like you said, but under the interstate was really cool because they have like all this artwork. The urban artists have painted underneath so it looks bright and it’s attractive as you get over to the fieldhouse. Yeah, that might be underneath the old uh railroad tracks. Yeah. Yeah, the railroad tracks. Yes. Not the interstate. Yeah, the interstate’s on the other side. Yeah, you’re right. That part, that part sometimes you can see some, you know, if you’re out late and somebody’s party, get a group of people fighting and arguing. But even that, you know, you know, they’re cleaning that up a lot. Um, very friendly to visitors. Um, yeah, bars everywhere, restaurants everywhere. The choices were numerous. I don’t want to say endless, but there were choices everywhere. If you’re going to Indie for a sporting weekend, you have Lucas Oil Stadium. You know, the seasons aren’t exactly going to me mesh up with the Fever, but Victory Field is nearby. You got the NCA headquarters right there. So, we visited the Hall of Champions, which is a nice little museum. We spent about an hour there and uh checked out the displays. That was kind of cool. You got And uh we actually drove by the park where there’s a USL 2 team, is it? Or USL team there. Oh, USL championship. That’s uh yeah, the Indie 11 on uh on the campus of uh IU. Yeah, IU Indie now. Yep. So that’s all downtown. And like you said, you got what? Monument Square. We checked that out. Uh so you know, the canal, which I love the canal. You go there on a nice day. It’s I think it’s one of Indianapolis’s bestkept secrets. You got Benjamin Harrison’s uh home if you like historical uh places to visit, old presidents. And there’s, like I said, there’s some nice little neighborhoods. Massav is a a fun little district to go to. Uh there’s Fountain Square, some great breweries, some uh there’s some great distilleries as well. Uh High-5 is is a nice concert venue. Then you got Broad Ripple Village about six miles north, maybe for a younger crowd, but you know, you go to to be seen and and meet up with folks. So for for a younger audience, you know, not not as old guys who are married with children. Well, we we wandered around as much as we could and uh saw a little bit of the sites, but uh yeah, really quickly before we wrap things up, just getting back um in inside the fieldhouse uh the renovations they did. Having nothing to compare it to before the inside the concourses were bright, open, it looked like there were tons of different options concession wise. Um inside the arena, everything is brand new. It’s bright. Um they’ve got the uh the MC going. They got the DJs going. Everything you want in your modern basketball uh presentation. So yeah, really a fun night. And they also have bsentennial uh plaza next door which is that basketball rink and they have that giant kind of sculpture that lights up. I don’t know if you Yes. Yes, we saw that. That’s a nice little feature. Adds a little pizzazz pizzazz to uh the elements to the night. So the the one thing that my wife wanted me to mention when we talk about this podcast is uh the bag policy. So for any uh any ladies watching this show very rest and this was before they people started throwing dildos on the field on the court. The the bag policy was was very strange because it was a very small and oddly shaped bag that they were allowed but there were some bright sides to it. They have this little uh I don’t know this little wooden thing that you could put your bag in to see if it fits. And it was I don’t know the dimensions, but it was long and thin. It was like this. And that’s the only size bag you could bring in. It’s very very small. I would not recommend bringing any bag in unless you absolutely have to. Um Pam brought her usual bag in which is very small. It’s, you know, about yay big. And it wouldn’t fit in the container. So they’re like, “Nope, you can’t bring it in. You got to go uh bring it back to your car.” And they’re like, “All right, well, we just walked 15 minutes to get here and it’s 90 degrees out. We don’t want to all walk all the way back to the hotel.” So they said, ‘Well, if you go right across the street to the hotel, and I don’t remember what hotel it was, they’ll check your bag for five bucks and you can just leave it there. So, oh, all right. At least we had a solid backup plan. That’s good. Which not a lot of places offer you. So, that was that was really nice. A little Midwestern hospitality there. Can’t bring your bag in, but at least you can if you can’t bring it in, at least you can leave it across the street safely. But I do want to say something before we leave. Uh the fieldhouse when it first opened up until the renovations had this very nice high school fieldhouse vibe. You had a lot of areas with trophy cases where they displayed the history of the game. There’s a little bit of that obviously still in the arena, but at one time you had the old ABA trophies won by the Pacers. You had the old uniforms programs. You had information from the high school state tournaments. Uh there was an area for the old Indianapolis Olympians, the old, you know, NBL, uh BBA teams, probably getting some of those leagues mixed up. Uh a tribute to some of the colleges, you know, Indiana State, Larry Bird, uh IU, of course, Bobby Knight. Uh and that’s all gone. And I kind of missed that. I I kind of missed that. It really gave this place a basketball only feel, but I get it. you know, it’s it’s a multi-purpose venue and it’s going to house more than just basketball. And, you know, 25 years is is old for an arena. So, these these were the improvements made and it took away some of that, you know, one of a kind atmosphere that you only can get here. Even the old scoreboard looked like an old, you know, 1950 scoreboard, but that new one’s amazing. It’s It’s beautiful. Yeah, some of those treasures are still there, but yeah, it’s it’s not like you’re describing at all at all. Yeah, it’s much more modernized now. Um, one more question before you wrap it up, Mark. Um, Indiana likes to talk about itself as the state of basketball. Um, and that’s very obvious. Um, for the men’s side of the game, is it the same on the women’s side going down to the high school level and through? Is is the popularity of the fever and outrowing of that coming up through the game? That’s a good, you know, nobody’s ever asked me that question. Uh, I know Iowa likes to say they they’re the the queens of uh high school basketball and and I don’t know I I don’t have I I don’t know if that’s still the same. I could tell you this when it’s sectionals and regionals uh with the tournament some some areas draw really well. They’ll get about 57,000 people for high school basketball. Uh if you have a a all-American one-of-a-kind type of player on your team, she’s going to attract crowds. uh they’re going to follow her whatever venue you go to. I I still think the boys are the best, but you know, be more than happy to have that conversation with somebody who’s listening that maybe disagree. We can have a talk. So either either at the Stadium Journey podcast or the Ballpark Hunter podcast. But that’s a good question. That’s something I’m going to kind of look out for. There’s your new topic. Iowa girls women’s basketball versus Indiana girls or women’s basketball. I don’t know. Maybe there’s another state that’s kind of taken over. I mean that Caitlyn Clark was an Iowa high school basketball player. So, you know, they they she drew huge crowds. I I can’t think of a girl who, you know, drew who uh huge crowds out here, uh like, you know, some of the boys did in the past five, six, seven years. So, yeah, something to think about. All right, so there’s our look at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and the Indiana Fever Game Day Experience. Hope you enjoy joining us and we hope to see you again on the road again real soon. Cheers. And Mark, thanks for joining us. Thank you for having me. Heat. [Music]
The gang from Stadium Journey’s Obstructed views is back, and they are venturing into NEW territory. Is there a better way to take the first venture in the WNBA than to examine the phenomenon that is the Indiana Fever? Join Paul and Dave and special guest Marc Viquez as they examine the hottest thing basketball has seen in a long time.
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