About Indy Eleven

Indy Eleven was launched by Keystone Group CEO Ersal Ozdemir on January 16, 2013, to play in the North American Soccer League, beginning with the 2014 season. Originally born under the Indy Pro Soccer moniker, the club officially adopted its Indy Eleven identity on April 25, 2013, during a ceremony held at the iconic Soldiers and Sailors Monument - 152 years to the day of the initial enlistment of the 11th Indiana Regiment during the Civil War.

The unique Indy Eleven identity reflects the club’s fans’ desire to have a name tied both to the culture of “the beautiful game” and the State of Indiana, with the name referencing the 11 players giving their all on the field of play in addition to paying homage to the 11th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, which fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. The inspiration for the name came from Donna Schmink, the Collection Manager at the Indiana War Museum, who, when asked by team officials for ideas on a team name connected to Indiana history, suggested "the Eleventh" in honor of the regiment that valiantly fought under the initial direction of Colonel Lew Wallace.

Indy Eleven’s aim is to create a team that is representative of Indiana and creates strong emotional connections with its fans. Those connections – embodied in the team’s symbolic name, crest and colors – will be made with Indiana’s youth and adult soccer community and the active young adult urban and ethnic populations.

After selling out all 14 home games of its 2014 Inaugural Season, Indy Eleven is currently in its third season of play at Michael A. Carroll Stadium (2016 capacity of 10,524) on the campus of IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis. After leading the NASL in attendance during its first two seasons with nearly 10,500 fans per game, "Indiana's Team" is again pacing the growing league in the stands in 2016. The mission of Indy Eleven – “To win championships with and for the community” – stays true to its aim of fielding a team that will represent Indiana proudly on and off the field.

A day after a thrilling 4-1 home victory over Carolina vaulted Indy Eleven to the top of the North American Soccer League’s Spring Season standings, “Indiana’s Team” can now officially celebrate the first title in club history thanks to today’s FC Edmonton win over Fort Lauderdale.

“The incredible effort that every player and staff member has put in over the last three years culminated with a display last night worthy of a championship,” said Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir. “Everyone associated with Indy Eleven – players, coaches, staff, partners and especially the best fans in the NASL – helped us achieve this Spring Season title. We're honored to win this for the City of Indianapolis and the wonderful soccer community of Indiana.”

To start its third season of play, Indy Eleven finished the 10-game Spring Season undefeated (4W-6D-0L), square with the New York Cosmos on 18 points and also even in the league’s first two tiebreakers, goal differential (+7) and goals scored (15). The third and decisive tiebreaker, head-to-head results, went Indy Eleven’s way thanks to its dramatic 2-1 comeback win over the Cosmos at Carroll Stadium back on April 16.

The Fall Season was also a successful one for the "Boys in Blue" as they finished second in the table and maintained their home unbeaten streak all the way through the final game of the season - taking it to 16 total spanning back to the end of the 2015 season.

Advancing to The Championship Semifinal after their Spring Season championship, Indy Eleven welcomed Fall Season standouts FC Edmonton to Carroll Stadium on November 5. A neck-and-neck affair, Indy would eventually break the deadlock just after the hour mark as midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic planted his right foot on a rifled effort that reached the top right corner. The 1-0 scoreline would hold through 90 minutes, and in Indy Eleven's postseason debut they advanced to The Championship Final.

On November 13 at Shuart Stadium in New York, Indy Eleven faced the New York Cosmos in a fitting way to end the 2016 campaign. Having traded results throughout the Spring and Fall Seasons, Indy and New York once again took it down to the wire. After a scoreless 90 minutes of play, not even an additional 30 minutes of extra time would yield a winner. The two sides went to penalty kicks where the Cosmos would claim the victory, 4-2 on penalties.

Ahead of the 2017 season, Indy Eleven took another historic step towards building professional soccer in Indiana, formally announcing its bid to bring a Major League Soccer expansion franchise to the Hoosier State. Indy Eleven Founder & Owner Ersal Ozdemir delivered the club's official application book to MLS President Mark Abbott at the league's headquarters in New York City on January 31, 2017, which marked the deadline day for prospective ownership groups to submit their expansion bids.

Indy Eleven’s expansion bid is built upon four strengths the club has exhibited since its founding in January 2013:

• Fan Support: With just under 10,000 fans per game across its first three seasons, Indy Eleven has proven it has the fan base to support Major League Soccer. The addition of MLS, as it has in other markets, will cause these attendance numbers to grow dramatically.

• Stadium Project: A downtown location with convenient access for motorists and pedestrians has been identified for a 20,000-seat stadium built with soccer as the focal point. As with the city’s other world-class sporting venues, the new stadium will be within walking distance of all the tremendous shopping, dining and activities that downtown Indianapolis has to offer.

• Local Ownership: The club has commitments from a great group of owners who live and work in Central Indiana - and know what Indianapolis is about. This growing group is ready to lend their successful business backgrounds, strategic values and financial resources to help make Indy Eleven’s expansion bid a winner. The list of prospective investors, which is expected to grow in the coming days, currently includes:
  • Ersal Ozdemir - Founder & CEO, Keystone Realty Group
  • Mickey Maurer - Chairman of the Board, National Bank of Indianapolis and IBJ Corp
  • Jeff Laborsky - President & CEO of Heritage
  • Mark Elwood - CEO of Elwood Staffing
  • Andy Mohr - Founder & Owner of Mohr Auto Group

• Corporate Community Support: Indy Eleven has cultivated relationships with a tremendous group of sponsors, companies with strong global, national and local recognition like Honda (the team’s first Corporate Partner and primary jersey sponsor), McDonald’s, Finish Line, Anthem, Allegion and Community Health Network, counting amongst the dozens of current partners. This is a list that will grow exponentially to meet the exposure opportunities that participation in Major League Soccer will provide.