Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever, Indiana State basketball championships, and top concerts, was built in 1999 to emulate Indiana's old high school and college fieldhouses. The old-time feel is ubiquitous throughout with features like an old style box office, false 50's styled storefronts, and a manually changed scoreboard changed every quarter. Fast forward to 2015 and Bankers Life management is revamping almost all aspects of the Fieldhouse. This past summer many of the nostalgic concession stands have been replaced with upscale signs and names and a massive replay board now hovers above the court. Mel Raines, Senior VP of Facility Operations, approached Head of Fashion Design at IU, Deborah Christiansen, to help redesign the antiquated usher staff's uniforms. Professor Deb then asked me if I would like to be a part of the project and I excitedly accepted.

Mel and John Ball, Head of Bankers Life Security, expressed two uniform goals initially: a professional outfit to be worn at Pacers games and a more casual outfit to be worn at non-Pacer games (Fever games, concerts, and other events that Bankers Life hosts). I didn't receive much direction before the first meeting so I developed three jackets that could be Bankers Life branded, but maintain the very professional aesthetic that the Fieldhouse demands from their employees.

The Bankers Life Usher uniform before consisted of a very long sportcoat, vest, bow-tie, and green and brown striped shirt. I wanted to develop a much cleaner, modern coat to accompany and welcome in the architectural changes. The female uniform was also a point of importance as the men and women had no differentiation in sportcoat fit previously. 

The next portion is a focus on the casual outfit, as the blazer was then sourced to a Men's Warehouse uniform subsidiary company. The Bankers Life Coaches Jacket is meant to be worn at all non-Pacer games for a more casual look. The women would wear small scarves to fit inside the jacket collar along with their dress shirts while the men wear their ties and dress shirts with the jacket.

Coaches Jackets are classic staples and are a blank slate to add branded features. This jacket would come with the Bankers Life Fieldhouse logo stitched onto the left breast of the jacket with white letters embroidered into the backs.

The Bankers Life Usher & Security staff are wearing their new blazers during Pacer games while the casual outfit has been pushed back to after the 2015-2016 season.