by Daniel Bradley
FISHERS – Fishers will add a professional women’s volleyball team next year to the growing roster of sports teams that will play at the city’s new 8,500-seat arena.
City and team officials plan to hold a press conference Wednesday to announce the Indy Ignite, a member of the Pro Volleyball Federation, will play home games at the $170 million Fishers Event Center beginning in January 2025. The arena is under construction east of Interstate 69 and between East 106th and East 116th streets at Fishers District.
The Fishers Event Center will also be the home of the Indy Fuel minor league hockey team, which will relocate from the Indiana Farmers Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, and the Fishers Freight, an expansion team in the Indoor Football League.
The Ignite is co-owned by founders Jim Schumacher and Don Hutchinson. Schumacher is a principal with Indianapolis-based private equity firm GRE Capital, while Hutchinson is managing director of institutional advisory services at Indianapolis-based Goelzer Investment Management.
The Pro Volleyball Federation, which formed in 2022, will have 10 teams next year after it adds three expansion teams. The league announced in December that it would add a franchise in the Indianapolis area. Along with Fishers, the league will have expansion teams in the Dallas and Kansas City markets.
The league currently has 14-player teams in suburban Atlanta; Columbus, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; Orlando; San Diego and suburban Las Vegas.
This season, Pro Volleyball Federation teams are playing a 24-match regular season, with 12 home games, from January to May. Matches air on CBS Sports Network, Stadium (an internet sports network) and the Bally Sports App.
The Pro Volleyball Federation’s founders include former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer and volleyball figures Cecile Reynaud and Laurie Corbelli.
The league set a women’s volleyball attendance record last month when 11,624 fans saw the inaugural match between the Atlanta Vibe and Omaha Supernovas at CHI Health Center in Omaha.
Originally posted on insideindianabusiness.com