Capital Improvement Board presents 2026 budget; emphasizes security upgrades, sky bridges and diversity spending

The Capital Improvement Board presented its proposed 2026 budget to the Municipal Corporations Committee, framing the work as stewardship of the cityconvention and entertainment infrastructure and outlining capital and security investments ahead of major events, including the 2026 NCAA men's Final Four and the American Society of Association Executives conference.

Why it matters: The CIB operates major downtown venues including the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium; its budget affects tourism, public-safety planning and capital work on high-use public facilities.

Highlights from the presentation - Financial snapshot: CEO Andy Mallon said 2024 was a record year with total revenues over $238 million and that the CIB budgeted roughly $212 million in revenues for 2026. The CIB proposed $247 million in expenses and a capital plan that included approximately $35 million in capital investments. The board said it expected to end 2025 with unrestricted operating reserves of roughly $239 million. - Security and safety: Mallon said the board engaged Teneo (led by former NYPD and LAPD commissioner Bill Bratton) to review security after a fatal employee incident and that the CIB has hired a dedicated convention-center security chief and plans capital security work such as bollards and camera upgrades. Mallon said the challenge is balancing accessibility with safety and that improvements are underway. - Major events and economic impact: Mallon noted the CIB manages venues that hosted millions of attendees; he highlighted the 2026 NCAA men's Final Four, multiple NCAA division events, the ASAE meeting and stadium concerts as key drivers of activity. - Capital projects: The CIB listed Wi-Fi upgrades at Lucas Oil Stadium ($7 million), seating replacement at Victory Field ($4 million) and several sky-bridge projects to preserve downtown walkability. The proposed 2026 capital appropriation was about $35 million, less than 2025 because some hotel-related construction concluded in the prior year. - DEI and procurement: Coby Wright, business operations director and chief legal officer, described DEI accomplishments and said the CIB is implementing procurement software (BTG Now) to improve tracking and expand opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses. Wright reported month-to-month supplier-spend figures that reached about 21% MBE for one month, and said annual MBE/WBE targets have been improving.

Council questions and concerns - Public-safety funding to IMPD: Councilors asked which city fund receives CIB public-safety reimbursements; the CIB said it remits a percentage of admissions tax receipts back to the city for public-safety grants (shown in the presentation as $3.6 million for 2024) and that it will coordinate with city finance to trace the flow. - Reserves and investment: Councilors asked where operating reserves are held and how they are invested; CIB officials said the reserves are banked and invested under a municipal investment policy and that returns were roughly in the mid-4% range at the time of the presentation. - Small-business and MBE impact: Councilors praised improvements in supplier diversity but pressed for more transparency and scale; one councilor said the CIBspend flagged as XBE (minority/women/veteran businesses) still amounted to a small share of overall marketplace spending and asked the CIB to continue expanding opportunities. - Stocker Stadium and hotel projects: Councilors asked for an update on stadium-site design and sequencing; Mallon said initial design work is underway and the CIB is coordinating owners, the state and the MLS ownership group to refine scope, seat counts and premium spaces before advancing further design and construction decisions.

What the record shows The board presented a budget that assumes contingency and conservative revenue forecasting; CIB executives said the organization traditionally budgets with contingencies and often records better-than-budget actuals. Officials said the organization uses reserves to manage cash timing when large event revenues are realized in later years.

Next steps The CIB will return to the committee for further review; councilors asked for data on the flow of public-safety grant funds to IMPD, more detailed MBE/WBE spend breakdowns and timelines for specific capital projects such as the sky bridges and Wi-Fi upgrades.