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Indianapolis to host the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

By Samantha Horton, WFYI News

Posted August 16, 2024

Indiana state flag and basketball on Court Floor

Indianapolis will host the WNBA All-Star game on July 19, 2025. (Derek Brumby/Adobe Stock)

Next year’s WNBA All-Star Game will be held in Indianapolis. It’s the first time the state will host the game that brings top athletes in the league to showcase their talent. The game is set to take place on July 19, 2025.

The official announcement was made Thursday morning just before the start of the Indiana Women’s Summit. The event at the Indianapolis Convention Center brought women in sports together to discuss the industry.

Cheers and applause erupted in the room when Pacers Sports & Entertainment president and COO Mel Raines announced the news.

Indianapolis wasn’t originally set to host the 2025 WNBA All-Star game. There were other locations being considered but things fell through.

That’s when Raines got a text message.

“I made a whole lot of phone calls,” Raines said, describing the swift action she took to reach out to people.

After calls with Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Black Expo and others about scheduling and logistics, everything slid into place.

“And everybody just said, like, let's do this. This is a great opportunity,” she said. “Let's capitalize on what's going on here with the Fever and sports and women's sports in general. We've got the women's Final Four in ‘28 so it's kind of a cool lead into that.”

Indy Mayor Joe Hogsett released a statement celebrating the news.

“Indianapolis is on a roll as the host city for major events,” Hogsett said. “Right now, the entire country is feeling the excitement and energy of the WNBA. I’d argue nowhere is feeling it more than Indianapolis…and I will say it again, no one knows how to host the biggest events in sports like Indianapolis.”

The announcement comes as local WNBA team the Indiana Fever has seen a surge in interest over the past year with Caitlin Clark joining the team. Fever president and COO Allison Barber said the increased interest in women’s sports is part of a societal movement.

“And what you see is you have these inflection points that are exciting, and that's what we're witnessing with the Fever right now, which is then, of course, permeating all of women's basketball,” Barber said.

She said while the first focus of the All-Star game will be primarily basketball, she wants to harness the excitement from the event to highlight women in all sports.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a media release that the league is excited to bring the game to Indy.

“The city of Indianapolis and the entire state of Indiana have such an incredible and enduring passion for the game of basketball, making the region the perfect host to celebrate the WNBA and the game’s greatest stars,” Engelbert said.

Now with less than a year to plan, one thing Raines is most excited about?

“I'm excited to not have a snow plan,” she said. “I'm excited to see what we can do downtown in the summer.”

Contact WFYI Policy Reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org.