The Arena at Innovation Mile’s video screen and pylon announced the news of the Horizon League championships’ future plans soon after the press conference. (Richie Hall)
Men’s and women’s events start in 2027
By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – Starting next year, the Horizon League’s path to the Big Dance goes through Noblesville.
The Arena at Innovation Mile will be the site of the Horizon League men’s and women’s basketball championships beginning in 2027. The announcement was made at a press conference Thursday at the Arena. Speaking at the press conference were (from left) Carl Daniels, director of Hamilton County Sports Authority, Chris Neuman, interim Horizon League commissioner and Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen. (Photo provided)
The city announced that in 2027, the Arena at Innovation Mile will host the men’s and women’s Horizon League basketball championships. Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen made the news public at a press conference Thursday morning at The Arena, calling it “another giant step forward” for the city.
Interim commissioner Chris Neuman also spoke at the press conference, as did Carl Daniels, director of Hamilton County Sports Authority.
The Horizon League currently consists of 11 schools from across the Midwest, with a 12th school, Northern Illinois University, joining on July 1.
Next year’s tournament will be the first of a five-year run at the Arena. The facility will host quarterfinal games on Sunday, March 7, semifinal games on Monday, March 8 and the championship contest on Tuesday, March 9. First-round games will be played at the different schools, with the winners advancing to play at the Arena.
“We’re super excited for the City of Noblesville and the Arena at Innovation Mile to provide major experiences across our six-state, soon to be seven Midwest footprint,” said Neuman.
Daniels said bringing the Horizon League championships to Noblesville was a “collaborative effort” between the city, the Arena, REV Entertainment (operator of the Arena) and Hamilton County Sports Authority and the state of Indiana.
“The state of Indiana has a bid fund that we were able to tap into to help bring this event here,” said Daniels. “It was about an 18-month process. And this is a fantastic venue that we’ve been able to secure for this event, and it was built intentionally for events just like this.”
With the expected attendance, Jensen said the tournament will translate into “thousands of student-athletes and fans and families staying at our hotel rooms, dining at our restaurants, enjoying other entertainment opportunities all around central Indiana.”
Luke Bosso is the athletic director at IU Indianapolis, one of the Horizon League schools, and he attended the press conference as well.
“I’ve told the other athletic directors in the league, Indiana is basketball hungry and I feel pretty confident that we’re going to sell out this arena when we have it here,” said Bosso. “It’s going to be great basketball.”
Jensen said during the press conference that this is just the beginning for the Arena. Later, he expanded on that comment.
“I think you’ll see an announcement later this month about this facility specifically, and I think you’ll also see an announcement probably later this month, or in April, about other events happening here and in and around Innovation Mile,” said Jensen. “So, we are in constant conversation with not just sporting opportunities, but also corporate opportunities.”
