Bankers Life Fieldhouse, formerly called Conseco Fieldhouse, is perhaps one of the most underrated venues in professional sports. The city of Indianapolis, Indiana only has two professional sporting venues so our staff felt very fortunate to be able to see them both on the same weekend. (Read our review of Lucas Oil Stadium). Even though Indianapolis is a small market sports city, it may be one of the best sports cities in America per capita. Not only is it home to the Indiana Pacers and Indianapolis Colts, it is also home to the WNBA's Indiana Fever, Triple-A minor league baseball, Butler University basketball, the Indianapolis 500 and is the headquarters of the NCAA.
Our first visit was to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for a preseason game between the Indiana Pacers and the Dallas Mavericks. We had previously heard that Bankers Life Fieldhouse was the nicest venue in the NBA and although this is the only NBA arena we've visited, we see it's potential. Parking was plentiful. We parked at a surface lot on Washington Avenue and walked the three or so blocks to the arena area. We had a pre-game dinner at Kilroy's, a popular Irish pub. They had tons of televisions with games on every one. Get there early because a table is hard to come by at this place. Other popular dining spots near the arena included Harry and Izzy's, Ike and Jonesy's, Hooter's, Hard Rock Cafe, Tilted Kilt and Napolese. Downtown Indianapolis is very safe, there are plenty of people walking around at all hours and there must be more than 20 hotels within walking distance of both arenas.
Getting into the arena was rather simple. They have metal detectors which is quicker than patting down each and every fan. Upon entering we received a free game program and roster card. One of the main things you will notice is how loud the pregame music is before the game. To the left inside the main atrium is the box office area which was very classic and old school looking.
To your right is a small stair case which leads to the main concourse. You'll quickly notice how small the hallways are but the foot traffic wasn't too bad at all. The hallways of Bankers Life Fieldhouse are covered with all kinds of displays that pay tribute to Indiana's rich basketball history. The Larry Byrd and Oscar Robertson displays were probably our two favorites.
The concession stands are distinct and have a lot of different options. Prices were your typical stadium prices. Beer were $7.25 and the way the beers are poured will impress you. The ushers are on top of keeping fans out of the good seats. Our seats were in section 19, row 31. The amount of leg space we had was impressive and the bottom of every seat is padded. If you want to sit the closest to the court in this section, you'll want rows 23 and below. The crowd was steady but really got into the game when the Pacers rallied back to win the game after being down by 13. The gift shop was impressive. Plenty of workers around to help with all of your needs and I just had to snap a photo of the giant basketball.
There was also a neat little display showcasing the shoe size and height difference between George Hill and Roy Hibbert.
Overall, Bankers Life Fieldhouse is very clean, not too big, has friendly staff and affordable prices for tickets/merchandise. I want to visit a lot of other NBA arenas before returning but I definitely wouldn't mind returning for maybe even a playoff game in the future. Visually, Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, is a better experience but you'll be impressed with this place as well.
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