INDIANAPOLIS — During Thursday’s Indiana State Budget Committee meeting, state lawmakers gave Purdue University and IU the go-ahead to spend tens of millions of tax dollars on new facilities in downtown Indianapolis. "It’s a huge day for our campus,” IU Indianapolis Athletic Director Luke Bosso said. According to Bosso, IU plans to build a $110 million athletics facility just north of the NCAA Hall of Champions. The roughly 130,000-square-foot facility will boast a 4,100-seat arena for college and high school basketball and volleyball games. ”We’re following the same blueprint that we’ve used for so long at the natatorium where we’ve been able to host U.S. Olympic Trials and host NCAA Championships and things of that nature,” Bosso said. According to Bosso, USA Track and Field (USATF) will also move its headquarters into the new facility. ”So, in a line of athletic venues in downtown Indianapolis on our campus from Carroll Stadium to the natatorium to now our new building, it’s just another, another notch in continuing to make Indianapolis the sports capital of the world,” Bosso said. During Thursday’s budget hearing, IU officials spoke about how the legendary business leader Jim Morris advocated for such a facility for years before his death. ”It’s tough to talk about without getting emotional,” Bosso said. ”There were a lot of people that got this arena done, but it was Jim’s vision that started it, and to be able to carry that on as a kid from Indianapolis, we’re going to do it the right way.” During the same budget meeting, Purdue University successfully secured $187 million for a new academic success center. ”Achieving approval by the state today was a critical milestone for us,” Jay Wasson, the VP for Physical Facilities at Purdue University, said. ”The need for a purpose-built Purdue facility in Indianapolis is strong,” Wasson said. According to Wasson, the 250,000-square-foot mixed-use center will provide housing for roughly 500 students. ”It will include academic space for instruction, student collaboration, project space as well as a residential tower,” Wasson said. He also said Purdue is looking into hosting K-12 summer programs at the center’s classrooms, labs, and workshops once it opens. ”We expect to break ground in April of 2025, and the facility will open for use for our incoming Fall of 2027 class,” Wasson said.