Indiana Pacers

Indiana is a basketball state before it is anything else and Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis reflects that. The building holds around 18,000 and the atmosphere on a big game night is as good as any mid-market NBA city can offer. The Reggie Miller era left echoes in the building - the playoff runs against the Knicks, the eight-point miracle in eight seconds, all of it still lives in the conversation when the Pacers are playing well.

The current Pacers have something real happening with Tyrese Haliburton running the offense - fast, fun to watch, and genuinely capable of beating anybody on a given night. The fan base connects to a team that plays hard and moves the ball, which is exactly what Indiana basketball has always been about going back through the college and high school traditions that make this state different.

Mass Ave is the pre-game destination - Indiana Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue intersect there and you get a dining corridor worth exploring before tip-off. The Georgia Street development downtown is another option close to the arena, with bar space designed for exactly the game-night crowd. Getting to Gainbridge Fieldhouse is easy - there is parking in nearby garages and the arena is genuinely walkable from the downtown hotel corridor.

Haliburton has turned Indiana back into a team that the national audience is watching, and the building energy when the Pacers are running in transition reflects a fan base that knows basketball and appreciates the style their team plays.

Find Indiana Pacers tickets on Evil Tickets - Gainbridge Fieldhouse on a good game night is a reminder of why Indiana takes its basketball so seriously.