Heliport at center of MLS talks to lose last remaining tenant, IU Health. Will it close?
One of the last obstacles to decommissioning the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport, which is on the city's proposed site for a Major League Soccer Stadium, has been solved.
The city has been working with the federal government to try to close the heliport since 2020 “due to lack of use and excessive cost of operations and maintenance,” according to a May 28 letter from the Indianapolis Airport Authority to the city-county council. While it's still used for other transportation purposes, the heliport's one remaining tenant was IU Health LifeLine, the hospital’s medical transport program.
The Airport Authority approved a deal with IU Health Friday morning for the hospital system to lease over 11 acres at the Indianapolis Regional Airport at the corner of West Airport Boulevard and North Aviation Way, for a 30-year term and four five-year possible extensions. The hospital would pay just over $124,000 annually, but will pay to install sewer line extensions and will receive an estimated $125,000 in rental credits. The rental would begin either 90 days after construction starts or on Jan. 1, 2026, whichever comes sooner.
The heliport would likely be at the center of a one-mile professional sports development area for a Major League Soccer stadium should a local commission give the special taxing district the greenlight next week.
The City-County Council already approved Mayor Joe Hogsett's plan, but on Wednesday the Metropolitan Development Commission will have to sign off on it, too. It’ll then go to the state for approval.
But you can’t build a soccer stadium around a heliport. Now that the city leadership is rooting for an MLS team, they’ll have to make sure the heliport closes.
An agenda before the meeting stated IU Health would have to relocate regardless of if the plan was accepted due to the heliport's impending closure. The city has not yet announced this closure. The hospital didn't respond to requests for comment or provide information on how this would impact their operations.
Why decommissioning the heliport has been controversial
Indianapolis’s heliport has been around since 1969. While small, it still counts as a full airport — meaning the Federal Aviation Administration would have to approve its decommissioning, or closure.
The heliport’s day-to-day activity isn’t required to be reported. However, the Indiana Department of Transportation has estimates for use up through 2019: the total number of arrivals and departures combined that year was 1,696, and it hasn’t breached 2,600 since 2011.
More: Indianapolis City-County Council approves Hogsett's MLS stadium proposal over Eleven Park
In recent years, the Airport Authority has installed a system to measure operations. From January to April 2024, there were just under 300 arrivals or departures unrelated to IU Health. This accounts for approximately one non-medical arrival and departure per day.
The FAA posted the Airport Authority's request to close the heliport and be released from federal obligations online on Feb. 7, 2023 to allow for public comment.
However, the post received 270 responses. Every commenter was in favor of keeping the heliport: individual pilots and groups such as Helicopters Association International and SRT Helicopters alike shared their support for the site, and even former vice president and Indiana governor Mike Pence chimed in.
“During my time as Governor of the State of Indiana, I witnessed firsthand the critical importance of this heliport, strategically located in the heart of Indianapolis,” Pence’s comment letter reads. “At a time when states and communities should be prioritizing both public safety and job growth, I believe the closure and redevelopment of the heliport for non-aeronautical use would be misguided and shortsighted.”
Decommissioning was duly put on hold as officials reconsidered. But now, the Airport Authority has restarted the process after completing a review of the public comments, working with the FAA to address any questions raised by these comments and to relocate IU Health.
The city, through the Department of Metropolitan Development, signed a memorandum of understanding with the IAA in 2021 which gives the city exclusive sale rights for redevelopment purposes.
But even if decommissioning goes smoothly, there may still be snags in the process. Indianapolis’s downtown heliport is only 60 by 60 feet wide, while an MLS soccer field must be a minimum of 210 by 330 feet — not including the stadium and any surrounding development.
One of the closest properties to the heliport site takes up 2.45 acres on Washington Street and is owned by Sweet Real Estate, one of multiple companies owned by Fort Wayne's Surack Enterprises. Chuck Surack, who owns the firm, is a co-owner of Indy Eleven and a major investor in opposing MLS bid site Eleven Park.
Aliya Wishner, the city of Indianapolis communications and policy director, said when asked about any plans by the city to purchase other property surrounding the city that the city is working through "proper due diligence of the site."
Contact IndyStar politics Pulliam fellow Nadia Scharf at nscharf@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @nadiaascharf.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy's heliport will have no tenants. Will it close for an MLS site?
