INDIANAPOLIS — On Friday, 13News obtained a letter sent to the City-County Council president from the Indianapolis Airport Authority confirming the authority is moving forward with closing the downtown Heliport.
The process first started several years ago after the authority said the financial burden of continued operation outweighed the public value provided to the citizens of Indianapolis.
Currently, the Heliport's only tenant is IU Health’s Lifeline.
But there is another catch.
The Heliport is also where Mayor Joe Hogsett wants to build the city’s new soccer stadium.
On Monday, the City-County Council is expected to pass a proposal to approve a special district that would help fund construction of a soccer stadium on the east side of downtown.
The district is just one part of the mayor’s plan to entice a Major League Soccer expansion to Indianapolis.
That means the city will need to acquire the land where the stadium needs to go. Right now, a huge chunk of that includes the downtown Heliport.
Back in mid-2020, IAA’s Board approved a resolution to request approval from the FAA to cease aviation operations at the Heliport. The authority then began the process to secure approval from the FAA in December 2020.
As of today, the approval is still pending.
Then in 2021, the authority entered into an agreement with the City’s Department of Metropolitan Development to determine a redevelopment strategy for the site.
Chief Deputy Mayor Dan Parker addressed that agreement Tuesday at a council committee meeting.
“When [the Heliport] is decommissioned by the FAA, that property can be redeveloped in coordination under a memorandum of understanding between the Airport Authority and the city of Indianapolis,” Parker said.
In the May 28 letter to City-County Council President Vop Osili, the IAA said they paused efforts last year in response to the public comments received by the FAA, the IAA and the city.
“With that review completed, the IAA has restarted the process of decommissioning the Heliport. The IAA has been communicating with the FAA to address final public comments and questions which were a result of the Federal Registry process,” said Jonathan D. Weiinzapfel, general counsel for the IAA.
But not everyone is on board. Fort Wayne billionaire Chuck Surack is fighting to keep the Heliport open. He’s also the new co-owner of Indy Eleven.
“The FAA as of last week has still not approved shutting down the Heliport. They keep asking the city of Indianapolis to come back with more reasons why because it is a great asset and will be an even better over the next year,” Surack said during a council committee meeting last Tuesday.
The IAA hopes to receive confirmation “in the near future” from the FAA about its decision to close the Heliport and that the authority “looks forward to working with the city on redevelopment of that site.”