Pacers' Conseco Fieldhouse Receives Name Change To Bankers Life Fieldhouse

CNO Financial Group and Pacers Sports & Entertainment Thursday announced that Conseco Fieldhouse will now be known as Bankers Life Fieldhouse. CNO Financial Group, formerly Conseco, is in the 13th year of a 20-year naming rights partnership for the arena. Bankers Life & Casualty Co. is CNO’s largest subsidiary (Pacers). Pacers Sports & Entertainment President Jim Morris said, “This will be a challenge because people identify this building as Conseco all over the world. On one hand, we’ll no longer have a name that’s a household name, but it’s another opportunity to tell our story and affirms a very important partnership.” CNO Financial execs said that they picked Chicago-based Bankers Life as the venue’s namesake because “it has the broadest national reach among the holding company’s three brands.” CNO Financial CEO Ed Bonach said that “switching the fieldhouse moniker is simply the ‘natural next rebranding move’ after officials worked to phase out the Conseco name in its holding company and subsidiaries.” Morris praised CNO Financial “for remaining committed to the naming-rights agreement, even as it hit hard financial times in the early days of the agreement.” In Indianapolis, Francesca Jarosz noted the company “then known as Conseco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002.” CNO Financial “will spend an undisclosed amount -- Bonach said it’s less than $1 million -- to change signage at the facility” (IBJ.com, 12/22). Morris said that the deal “won't change with the new name.” He added that he is “confident that Bankers will do a good job of promoting the new name.” In Indianapolis, Carrie Ritchie noted to celebrate the new name, Bankers and the fieldhouse “are offering a special deal on tickets to the Pacers' first home game of 2012, which will be Jan. 7” against the Bobcats. Pacers tickets that “usually cost $10 to $81 will be offered for $1, $7 or $12 because the date is 1/7/12” (INDYSTAR.com, 12/23).