INDIANAPOLIS — A huge investment is coming to the near west side of Indianapolis. Last month, a group of investors got the green light for the City-County Council to pour $45 million into Kuntz Memorial Stadium.
The goal is to attract rugby and other field sports to the Circle City.
The west side sports facility sits right on the corner of 16th and Harding Streets. It first opened back in 1987 as a premiere stadium and even hosted the Pan American Games in 1987.
However, the stadium is now in need of repairs and upgrades. It is owned by Indy Parks, but will be leased to Riverside Sports Properties to renovate and manage.
“We thought that this was a terrific facility to redevelop and make a vibrant part of the Indianapolis sports scene,” said Brian Williams, one of the investors of Riverside Sports Properties.
But not just for any sport.
Williams and his partner Bill Ehret are looking to attract rugby to the Circle City.
“Rugby is the fastest growing team sport in the U.S. It’s a terrific game for men and women,” Williams said.
“It’s an emerging sport. Why not Rugby?” Ehret said. “Let’s try to position something for a professional team to want to come to Indianapolis.”
The two say there is already a strong fan base in Indiana with several Hoosiers on the national team.
Also, the Men’s Rugby World Cup is coming to the U.S. in 2031 and the women’s is coming in 2033.
So far, a location hasn’t been chosen.
“We think that Indianapolis is really uniquely positioned to compete to host activities associated with either tournament,” Williams said.
First, the developers will need to transform the stadium.
The current plan is to add 8,000 seats, a public plaza, improved lighting, an enhanced facility, field improvements, a new entryway and possibly a training facility.
The construction will be done in four phases.
The group also wants to make sure the community is involved and has access to the fields.
“Soon we could see 1,000 to 1,500 fans supporting those college level or youth level sporting events to 5,000 to 8,000 fans cheering on USA against Canada in an international test match for rugby,” Ehret said.
The hope is to have much of the construction done by 2027 with shovels in the ground as early as this fall.