IU Health LifeLine Booted to Indianapolis Regional Airport

The FAA recently issued its approval to the Indianapolis Airport Authority to close the downtown Indy Heliport. The land is part of a larger chunk needed for the city to construct a Major League Soccer stadium.

Shutting down the heliport has already been a lengthy process, but it isn’t quite over yet. The process began nearly four years ago after the IAA board decided that the field’s costs outweighed its value to the community. The authority submitted a request to get the FAA’s go-ahead to begin closure in December 2020.

"After a nearly four-year deliberative process, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a determination letter to the Indianapolis Airport Authority authorizing the decommissioning of the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport," stated Megan Carrico, IAA Senior Director of Public Affairs. "The Heliport will remain open and active until its only tenant, IU Health LifeLine, moves its operations to a new facility at the Indianapolis Regional Airport.”

And what’s more important than medical transport services? Soccer, apparently. The heliport just so happens to occupy a large chunk of the land that Mayor Joe Hogsett has sectioned out to construct an MLS Stadium. This has been a controversial proposal for locals not only due to funding, but also because the city is yet to lure in an MLS team.

"I want to make it clear to the people of Indianapolis, I am not Bill Hudnut and we're not going to build a football stadium without a team. We will build a soccer-specific stadium if and only if MLS wants to bring a club to Indianapolis," Hogsett explained.

He also stated that the state will need to approve the plan before Indianapolis leadership can apply to MLS and earn a club.

The downtown Indy Heliport (8A4) was opened in 1969 for private use under the name Beeline Heliport. It was purchased by the IAA and converted to a public facility in 1979. The heliport now contains one main landing pad, an apron, and two hangars.

“This real estate sale is part of IAA’s broader Land Use Initiative that has been in progress since 2017 and focuses on returning land no longer needed for aviation use back into productive use for the community,” Carrico continued.

FMI: www.indy.gov