At 8 p.m. on the night before Thanksgiving, FOX will air the championship match of the first Big Ten Women's Volleyball Tournament from the Fishers Event Center. The arena sits at 11000 Stockdale Street. The winner gets the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Across the parking lot, The Union at Fishers District has more than a dozen announced tenants, and Flower Child, which opened Oct. 27, is the first of them to open its doors.
For six days, Fishers' biggest event happens in a district that is still under construction. Then, two days after the final, the holiday season moves back to the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater. The rest of this post explains what that means for someone who lives here.
The bracket fills the Event Center for six days
The City of Fishers lists the tournament as the "inaugural" event in its fall lineup. The conference's top 15 teams will play at the Fishers Event Center, which is also home to the Indy Ignite. When Indiana Sports Corp announced the event, it pointed to the 7,500-seat arena, the city's identity as a volleyball town, and the region's long record of hosting Big Ten championships. It's a fairly quick step up for the building. WTHR reported that the Ignite played their first home match there in front of a sold-out crowd on Jan. 11, 2025.
Here is the Big Ten's published schedule. All times are Eastern:
| Day | Round | Match times | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Nov. 20 | First round, 3 matches | 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. | Big Ten Network |
| Saturday, Nov. 21 | Second round, 4 matches | Noon, 2 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m. | B1G+ for the afternoon, FS2 for the evening |
| Sunday, Nov. 22 | Quarterfinals, 4 matches | Noon, 2 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m. | Big Ten Network |
| Monday, Nov. 23 | No matches | None | None |
| Tuesday, Nov. 24 | Semifinals, 2 matches | 6 p.m., 8 p.m. | Big Ten Network |
| Wednesday, Nov. 25 | Championship | 8 p.m. | FOX |
The schedule is built around the holiday. The heaviest days are the weekend, with eight matches over Saturday and Sunday. Monday is the one off day the conference planned. The last two nights have evening matches only, so the final ends on the evening before Thanksgiving. The conference says dates, times and TV coverage may still change. The seeds stay blank until the regular season ends, so nobody knows yet which schools are coming.
The Big Ten sells all-session tickets through Ticketmaster, and suite inquiries go to Indiana Sports Corp. The Event Center's tournament page has a sign-up form for single-session tickets. That's the better fit if you only want the Sunday quarterfinals or the final.
What a week of matches means at I-69 and 116th Street
The Event Center lists more than 2,000 parking spaces, managed by LAZ. There are no entry gates. Cameras read license plates, and you can pay ahead online or in the app, or pay on event day. The venue's know-before-you-go page recommends Waze for event-day traffic and street closures. It lists I-69 Exits 204 and 205 and 106th and 116th Streets as the ways in, and it puts rideshare drop-off north of Forum Credit Union Plaza.
The day to plan around is Friday, Nov. 20. The first match starts at 11 a.m. on a workday, and the last one starts at 3 p.m., so the Event Center will be busy through the middle of the day. If your commute or errands take you past Stockdale Street, it's worth knowing that ahead of time. Saturday and Sunday each have an afternoon pair and an evening pair of matches, which means crowds arriving and leaving several times a day. Tuesday and Wednesday crowds come in for the evening only.
Flower Child is the first to open at The Union
Visiting fans walking out of the arena will find a district still being built. Thompson Thrift's own property page lists The Union at Fishers District as "Under Construction." Flower Child is the exception. Its 3,500-square-foot freestanding restaurant with a patio at 9344 Union Place Drive held its opening celebration on Oct. 27, according to Current in Fishers. The Fishers location page now says "NOW OPEN." According to Current's January report on the development, it's the chain's second Indianapolis-area restaurant, and the menu centers on bowls, wraps and salads built from mix-and-match vegetables, grains and proteins.
Everything else at The Union has been announced without an opening date:
- Cunningham Restaurant Group concept, not yet named. This is a two-story building with about 5,700 square feet of fine dining upstairs and a 2,400-square-foot small-plates bar on the ground floor. Current reported that the concept will be new to the group that runs Rize, BRU Burger Bar, Provision, Livery and Vida.
- Kitchen Social. In 2024, Thompson Thrift projected an opening in the second half of 2026.
- Piedra Mexican Steakhouse, the development's first signed lease.
- Niku Sushi.Kitchen.Bar, Racha Thai and Everbowl.
- Dot Sugar, a dessert and beverage shop, and The Oakmont, a restaurant and bar.
- Retail and services: Hupp Jewelers, Renova Aesthetics, Sweathouz and Unplug Soy Candles.
Nearby, Clutch Kitchen is at 9713 District North Drive, in the former Fishers Test Kitchen space. Current reported in January that it had opened with a limited menu. The upscale steakhouse planned for The Crossing, steps from the arena, won't open until 2027, according to Current's July 2025 report.
During tournament week, the restaurant district planned around the arena will still be under construction, and Flower Child will be its first open restaurant.
On Black Friday, the season moves to Municipal Drive
The arena district gets the six days of national TV. Then the city's own holiday tradition starts on Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving and two days after the final. Night Lights, the City of Fishers tree lighting and kickoff celebration presented by GBC Bank, runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater, 6 Municipal Drive. It's free and doesn't require registration. According to Fishers Parks, the evening includes live music, fire pits, igloo seating, live ice carving, reindeer, Fishers AgriPark animals, food trucks and holiday lights throughout downtown. Santa and Mayor Scott Fadness light the tree on the amphitheater stage at 6:30 p.m., and the parks department notes it starts on time.
The Event Center keeps going that weekend, on a smaller scale. Its calendar lists Triumph on Nov. 27 and The 90s R&B Experience with Joe on Nov. 28.
The second week of December belongs to Jingle Bell Junction at 10 Municipal Drive, next door to the amphitheater:
- Tuesday, Dec. 8: Santa's Workshop, 4 to 8 p.m. Free drop-in woodshop projects led by Maker Playground staff.
- Wednesday, Dec. 9: DIY Gift Supplies and Karoling Karaoke, 5 to 9 p.m., free.
- Thursday, Dec. 10: Reindeer Games, with kids' bingo from 5 to 7 p.m. and holiday movie trivia with Hambones Trivia from 7:30 to 10 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 11: Community Jazz Improv led by Brandon Meeks from 6 to 8 p.m., then a professional jazz lounge from 8:30 to 10 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 12: Cookies With Characters from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration is required for everyone, at $10 for residents and $15 for nonresidents. In the evening, the Winter Market with Mixo Indy runs 6 to 10 p.m. Market entry is free, and the mixology classes cost $40 for residents.
- Sunday, Dec. 13: Holiday Thrift-A-Thon, noon to 5 p.m., free entry.
The Fishers Parks page for these events still carries an older publication date, even though the weekdays line up with 2026. Check the listing again before you go.
The two weeks before the first serve
As of Thursday, Nov. 5, here is what's left on the November calendar before the bracket starts:
- Saturday, Nov. 7: The city's free fall Recycling Day runs 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Billericay Park, 12690 Promise Road. Bring electronics and household hazardous waste. The accepted-items list is at FishersIN.gov/Recycling.
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: The Fishers Veterans Day Ceremony starts at 11 a.m. in the Theater at Fishers Municipal Center, hosted with the Fishers Armed Services Commission.
- Friday, Nov. 13: The Fishers Arts Council's free Second Friday Gallery Hop runs 5 to 9 p.m. in the Nickel Plate District.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: The Fishers Community Center hosts a harvest-themed Kids Night Out on the same day as the tournament's second round.
MercyMe and guests play the Fishers Event Center on Nov. 12, eight days before the first match there.
The Event Center district is getting its first national championship while most of The Union's announced restaurants are still on the way. If you have questions about how the area around Stockdale Street and The Union is changing, The O'Connor Team is happy to talk through what's open, what's coming and how it fits your plans. Get in Touch.
