In Memory of Mel Simon

The Pacers owner, who passed yesterday, is remembered fondly: “The NBA commissioner knows Simon’s value. He and his brother saved the franchise for Indianapolis and ran it in a first-class manner for 26 years. They purchased the Pacers, which were on the brink of moving to Sacramento, in 1983. Then they built Conseco Fieldhouse, which opened in 1999 and is one of the premier venues in the NBA. ]To keep (the Pacers) and to move from Market Square Arena to Conseco Fieldhouse, it was their determination that everything about the basketball team and the NBA in Indianapolis was going to be first-class because Indianapolis deserves it,’ Stern said.”