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INDIANAPOLIS – It might sound hard to believe, but the Indiana Pacers’ opening board for the next season is less than two months away. Tickets go on sale even earlier, September 30.
Bankers Life Fieldhouse is still a construction site, but staff say the stadium will be ready for action on October 13, when the renovated field is ready to host the Memphis Grizzlies for preseason games.
If you walk past the complex turned into a construction site, you are sure to see and hear a lot of equipment – a keen eye will notice a worker whose tools make much less noise than others.
“I’m just excited about this building project, I was here when we built the pavilion,†said Barbara Stahl, muralist for Bankers Life Fieldhouse. “I am the official Pacers woman painter!” “
Above the sound of heavy machinery downstairs sits Stahl. She has been painting murals from the upcoming Pacers program on the facade of a building along S Pennsylvania Street for 22 years.
The backdrop to his plan for the year is certainly different this time around. As the multi-million dollar land facelift continues around her.
“From up there it’s just incredibly mind-boggling, that’s all I can say,†Stahl said. “How do these construction ‘artists’, I will call them … because they are construction artists, do it all the way they do.” They are amazing. “
For all purposes. The massive 35 ‘by 75’ canvas – some may call a wall – is Stahl’s.
“Basically, yeah! That’s how I feel, â€Stahl said with a laugh. “I feel like it’s my wall. But I love him so much. I’m really looking forward. I love him so much.”
It’s difficult to paint on such a large scale. Stahl gets up early each morning to get as much work done as possible before the heat hits the top of Wall 120’s surface.
“Depending on the day of course, but even on a cooler day the sun is a south facing wall, it’s probably 120 heat index up there, maybe more honestly,” Stahl said. “It’s so hot that the paint literally dries on the tip of your brush before you can paint with it, so you just have to stop. It is just too hot some days.
Despite his challenges, it’s a labor of love that Stahl wouldn’t trade.
“I am very thankful and grateful that they are leaving this considering everything else that has been demolished from the construction project. But this wall has become a bit iconic! Literally millions of people have seen the timetable wall, â€Stahl said. “This opportunity is the biggest thing that has ever happened to me really… and my association with the Pacers is so meaningful and it’s amazing, yes I love it very much.”
… Except when she has to paint the name of a particular town in the north.
“Not in our Detroit house!” That’s what I’m saying, â€Stahl said. “Other teams too, especially if we played close games with them last year.”
Individual tickets go on sale September 30. You can consult the full schedule, on a smaller scale, here.
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