Construction is underway.
Columns and beams are rising for Indiana University Indianapolis’ James T. Morris Arena, on pace to be completed by fall of 2026. “In an ideal world,” the institution’s athletic director, Luke Bosso, explains, “we would play two weeks of volleyball before basketball, so we could get to know the arena. … Worst-case, the first basketball game is in it.”
It has the worthiest of namesakes.
Jim Morris made impacts well beyond the university. For starters: president of the Lilly Endowment, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme, vice chairman of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, and head of the Indianapolis Water Company (now part of Citizens Energy Group), which hailed him a “visionary leader” in memoriam.
Former New York Times journalist and current director of IU Indy’s Sports Capital Journalism Program Malcolm Moran first became acquainted with Morris, then chief of staff to Indianapolis mayor Richard Lugar, at a sporting event he was covering. The two bumped into each other many times over the years. Morris fundraised to send Moran’s students to cover the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. (He also once served on the U.S. Olympic Committee.) Moran remains struck by how Morris served the public without becoming controversially partisan. “He really was the gold standard when it came to this. I’m sure he had some very strong personal political views, but they never came at the expense of someone who was across the aisle,” he recalls. “The greater good and a willingness to reach out and find common ground was at the core of his being.”
The arena will attract new students.
With the Herron School of Art and Design just to the north and the NCAA headquarters to the south, “The Jim” (as the new facility has already been nicknamed) will be on prime downtown real estate. The arena—which will also serve as USA Track & Field’s national headquarters—will seat 4,100 for basketball games and up to 4,500 for other events, according to Bosso. New IU Indy head men’s basketball coach Ben Howlett has his own reasons to be excited. “The new arena will be the perfect size for our program,” he says. “And having it on campus in downtown Indianapolis will be fantastic for recruiting.”
The massive project has a top team.
Ratio Design, behind the recently completed The Arena at Innovation Mile as well as Gainbridge Fieldhouse, is designing James T. Morris Arena. F.A. Wilhelm Construction is executing its plan in partnership with 40 subcontractors, according to senior project manager Rachel Woznicki. The entrance to the building will face west. Ratio Design CEO Bill Browne Jr. says, “We wanted to push the event level into the ground so that when you came into the building, you would basically be at the concourse level, and then you would go down into the seating.” This allows the height of the building to be scaled similarly to neighboring buildings, helping it fit into the campus more seamlessly, explains Browne.
It won’t be cheap.
Funding for the building—to the tune of $89.5 million—was approved in the state legislature’s budget back in June 2023; IU is putting forward another $21 million to take the project over the finish line. Although sports will be the primary purpose, hosting will extend to entertainment, ceremonies, and more. “[It] is not only a centerpiece for IU Indianapolis athletics,” says IU president Pamela Whitten, “but a lynchpin in cementing the city’s leadership as the sports capital of the world. Bringing The Jim to life is as much of an investment in the economic vitality of the region as it is in the culture of Jaguar athletics.”
Morris called for the arena.
Even though he attended IU Bloomington, he was a staunch advocate for an arena at IUPUI, now IU Indy. Jackie Morris, Jim’s wife of 59 years, looks forward to attending the first game played in The Jim. “He knew it was going to happen; he just didn’t know when,” she shares. “But he would have fought tooth and nail not to have it named after him! He was a pretty humble guy.”
He cared about Indianapolis to the end.
Former Governor Eric Holcomb’s chief of staff, Earl Goode, was one of Morris’ closest friends. The pair spoke often. In fact, Morris called him three times on July 12, 2024, neither having any warning that Morris would pass away that night. Recalls Goode, Morris called him first thing in the morning to hash out a thought he had on a facilities upgrade. Morris rang again in the early afternoon to bounce an idea off Goode about a way to woo a particular college coaching association to Indianapolis. “His ideas for Indianapolis never stopped coming,” Goode adds. The reason for the late afternoon, final chat? An impromptu invitation to join him and Jackie at the Fever game that evening. Goode couldn’t make it on such short notice. But the Fever sent Jim Morris out a winner: 95-86 over the Phoenix Mercury.
