Improvement projects coming to Indianapolis baseball stadium – Lexington Herald Leader

Several major improvements are planned for the home of Indianapolis’ minor league baseball team, beginning in 2017.

The Indianapolis Indians’ 20-year lease extension at Victory Field was announced in October. The extension includes a list of stadium projects and the order in which they would be done.

The projects include adding a new scoreboard and sound system, renovating suites and replacing stadium seating. The lease extension calls for the city’s Capital Improvement Board to spend up to $2 million a year and up to $6 million overall for improvements in the contract’s first four years, The Indianapolis Star reported (http://indy.st/1Tj3XcV ).

The lease extension doesn’t begin until April, team general manager Randy Lewandowski said.

“Nothing will occur until next offseason,” he said.

The team pays for operations at the stadium that opened in 1996, but will no longer pay rent under the extension. It paid $500,000 a year in a previous agreement. Capital Improvement Board Executive Director Barney Levengood said the paying off of a bond issue allowed for elimination of rent.

Under the extension, the team would be allowed to sell the naming rights to Victory Field, which was also allowed under the original contract. But Lewandowski said there aren’t plans to change the name, which comes from the U.S. victory in World War II. It was also the name of the team’s previous stadium from 1942 to 1967.

“We think the name Victory Field resonates,” Lewandowski said.

Last season, the team drew a record home attendance of 662,536. The Indians play in the Class AAA International League.