Conseco Fieldhouse

Lore & Background

The first NBA game held at Conseco Fieldhouse was on November 6, 1999, when the Indiana Pacers played their regular-season home opener against the Boston Celtics. Later that same season, the Pacers made it to the 2000 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. Games 3, 4, and 5 of that championship series were held at Conseco Fieldhouse, but the Pacers ended up losing that season's title four games to two. Several games of the 2002 FIBA World Championship were played at Conseco Fieldhouse, including the semifinals and the final. In 2009, the fieldhouse was the site for the 2009 WNBA Finals. The Indiana Fever took on the Phoenix Mercury for games 3 and 4 of that series but ended up losing the series. Three years later, the Fever hosted the 2012 WNBA Finals for games 3 and 4 and beat the Minnesota Lynx. The arena hosted games 3, 4, and 6 of the 2025 NBA Finals, but the Pacers ended up losing that season's title four games to three.

Reader's Guide

The arena was originally named Conseco Fieldhouse, as the naming rights to the venue were sold to Conseco, a financial services organization based in nearby Carmel. In May 2010, the company renamed itself CNO Financial Group, but the fieldhouse retained the Conseco name. In December 2011, CNO Financial Group changed the name of the fieldhouse to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, after one of its subsidiaries, Bankers Life and Casualty. CNO decided not to renew its naming sponsorship after it expired on June 30, 2019. On September 27, 2021, the fieldhouse announced that Indianapolis-based financial platform Gainbridge would be the new naming partner for the fieldhouse in a multi-year partnership. Ellerbe Becket designed the arena's distinctive brick and glass facade to evoke Indiana's classic high school and college field houses. Unlike most other North American sports arenas, the facility was designed primarily for basketball. The arena can accommodate an NHL-sized rink, but the ice hockey seating capacity is reduced to 12,500 in an asymmetrical configuration. For basketball, the venue seats 17,923 (18,345 from 1999 to 2006, 18,165 from 2006 to 2016).

Did You Know?

• In 2005 and 2006, Conseco Fieldhouse was ranked the No. 1 venue in the NBA according to the Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily Reader Survey.
• On March 11, 2019, Metallica set a new attendance record at the venue with 18,274 fans.
• In October 2004, the fieldhouse hosted the 2004 FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships, with a record crowd of 11,488 for a U.S. Swimming event outside the Olympics.
• In 2015, the fieldhouse hosted the Indy Invitational, with midget car racing and outlaw kart racing on a dirt track erected on the arena floor.