Indianapolis, IN: Indy Eleven Inaugural Game (4/12/14)

Last Saturday night, Eric and I joined my dad at the inaugural game of Indy Eleven, the new pro soccer (North American Soccer League) team in Indianapolis. 


Once we eventually made it to our seats (event logistics was not handled well, but hopefully they'll figure out that things like signs would be helpful before entering the stadium), we had a great time.


They are currently playing at the IUPUI Carroll Stadium, which was converted to seat over 11,000. It was completely packed.


The photo above is from the Indy Star, where I scoured their gallery to see if there were any photos of us. There was one! I've circled us in white. We had pretty good seats.


Like all pro soccer teams, there needs to be a rambunctious fan section. Indy has it with the Brickhouse. It was very fun to listen to the cheers and stomping, and way way way better to not be sitting directly behind them like we did at the DC United games. No beer thrown at us and no signs blocking our view!


There are several IU graduates and hometown boys on the roster (including a kid I watched play at DePauw), so the people in Indy are supportive. Well over half the people in the stands were already sporting some kind of Eleven merchandise, including tons of jerseys, which are not exactly cheap. I guess Indy has tried to have a pro soccer team before but it didn't catch on. I get the feeling this won't fizzle out too quickly. You think of Indiana for basketball, but having grown up here, I know that we take soccer seriously in this state. (Disclosure: I played soccer from the time I could stand up until going off to college, where I then coached a few teams there and in grad school. Also, my dad's other life is as a soccer coach. So I might be a little biased and in the trenches.)


After the game, which ended 1-1, was a fireworks show that was better than any of our recent July 4th shows. It lasted seriously half an hour and was awesome.


Tickets range from $10-100 and parking is $10. The stadium is on IUPUI's campus so parking in other lots is going to be difficult (universities like to give out tickets), unless you want to walk really far. The good news is that you can tailgate in all their parking lots. Since outside food and drinks aren't allowed in the stadium, we brought sandwiches and sides and drinks to have before the game. We finished everything off after the game until they started kicking everyone out. It was a good time. If you're looking for an inexpensive but fun sports outing in Indy, check out their schedule. They are playing at least 13 more home games this season (through October), mostly on Saturday evenings.
Indianapolis, IN: Indy Eleven Inaugural Game (4/12/14) Indianapolis, IN: Indy Eleven Inaugural Game (4/12/14) Reviewed by Maria on 3:00:00 PM Rating: 5

No comments:

© Maria Schwartzman. Powered by Blogger.