Hart-To-Clark: Kevin Hart Loves Alliance With WNBA Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark
Friday, February 28, 2025 at 12:13PM By Barry Janoff
Photo: PS&E, HartbeatFebruary 28, 2025: Approaching her second season with the WNBA Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark’s impact on the city, team and league continues to build.
Pacers Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Indiana Pacers, Fever and Gainbridge Fieldhouse, has signed a deal with Hartbeat, the global entertainment company from Kevin Hart, forming what was called “a first-of-its kind partnership to deliver exciting, culture-driven experiences to Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever fans and the Indianapolis community.”
Hartbeat will serve as PS&E’s official “cultural curator, creating live experiences and content for fans that blend basketball, music, comedy and culture.”
Financial terms were not shared.
“When it comes to delivering world-class fan experiences, we want to continue to raise the bar and this partnership does just that,” PS&E CEO Mel Raines said via the organization.
“As our official cultural curator, Hartbeat will be instrumental in creating unique and exciting experiences and content for fans that elevate our brands, community and growing fanbase.”
The partnership begins with a music and comedy festival that will host its inaugural event during AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025 in Indianapolis July 18-19.
Produced by PS&E and Hartbeat, Hartbeat said it would “curate a dynamic lineup of comedy and music acts for an unforgettable live experience, while also capturing content to be distributed across Hartbeat’s LOL Network and other streaming partners.”
Kevin Hart is featured in a promo spot for the alliance, “PSE + Hartbeat,” in which he is seen touring Gainbridge Fieldhouse, interspersed with shots of Clark, Fever and Pacers players in action.
“I do believe that we can do some pretty cool things together to where the impact that the combination of Indiana and Hartbeat can have together can be pretty dope,” says Hart. “And come All-Star, you guys are going to see some really cool stuff from us.
“There’s not a NBA, WNBA team or any team in professional sports that is going to make this announcement. We are going to create something truly innovative together, and when we look at these high-heat moments, nobody does big events better than Indianapolis.
The presence of Caitlin, last season’s WNBA Rookie of the Year, is already having consequences on the 2025 season.
The Fever roster under new head coach Stephanie White includes Clark, 
Aliyah Boston, Natasha Howard, Kelsey Mitchell and DeWanna Bonner.
The WNBA Chicago Sky said two games in Chicago when the team and Angel Reese host the Fever and Clark will be moved to the United Center. home of the NBA’s Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks, with a capacity of 20,917, from Wintrust Arena, which seats 10,387. The games are scheduled for June 7 and July 27, and will be the first WNBA games in the United Center.
The Fever’s May 28 and Sept. 7 at the Washington Mystics, originally scheduled to be played in 4,200-seat Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C., have been moved to 14,000-seat CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.
Tickets for the Fever’s exhibition game against the Brazilian National Team on May 4, 2025, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City sold out all 15,000 seats within the first 45 minutes after pre-sale tickets became available for donors and Iowa women's basketball season ticket holders, according to the Hawkeye athletic department.
In January, Pacers Sports & Entertainment today shared plans to break ground this summer on a state-of-the-art, $78 million exclusive sports performance center for the Fever. Located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis, construction of the three-story, 108,000-square-foot training complex is expected to begin in August 2025 and open before the 2027 WNBA season.
“Hartbeat is a dynamic industry leader with extensive experience transforming high-impact moments into enduring cultural movements,” Joey Graziano, PS&E evp-strategy and new business ventures, said via the organization. “Our creative collaboration with Hartbeat will redefine the fan experience in sports and entertainment and set a new standard for the intersection of basketball and culture.”
According Graziano “We’re thrilled to tap into Hartbeat’s creativity, distribution network, and access to talent to amplify our family of brands and deliver exclusive live performances and content to our global and growing fanbase.
“This partnership will produce a year-round lineup of new programming and events that will continue to showcase Indianapolis as a premier entertainment destination.”
Beyond the Fever and Pacers, the city has become a magnet for high-profile sports events.
The NFL Scouting Combine has been held in Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium, home to the NFL’s Colts, since 1987, and will remain there thru 2026 understand a deal signed this past November.
TKO Group Holdings and Indiana Sports Corp. last year signed a multi-year deal that will bring WWE’s three largest stadium events —WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble — to Lucas Oil Stadium.
Royal Rumble was staged in Lucas Oil Stadium Feb. 1. A two-night SummerSlam and two-night WrestleMania will take place there in future years.
Caitlin Clark Impact Builds: WNBA Indy Fever Plan $78M Sports Performance Center
WNBA All-Star Game ’25, Events To Be Hosted By Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever
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