INDIANAPOLIS — The future owner of the Indiana Pacers is Steve Simon, the son of current owner Herb Simon.
The younger Simon is finally coming forward with his vision for the Pacers franchise once his father hands him the reigns of the team.
“We’re going to have an exciting, dynamic team that’s fun to watch,” Simon said on Inside Indiana Business. “we’re going to get better and we’re convicted to building, knock on wood, a championship-caliber team.”
You may not know much about Steve Simon, which has been on purpose. He’s stayed out of the limelight as the son of an NBA franchise owner for the past 20 years. He decided against a job in the family business as a developer with Simon Malls.
Instead, he struck out on his own and has a successful equity firm business in the San Francisco Bay area.
Despite his leaving in Indiana, he has never forgotten his roots and often returns to the Hoosier state. With the years approaching for him to take over ownership of the team from his father, he’s been thinking about what type of owner he wants to be.
“Always have smarter people around me,” he said. “How do I listen better? I’m always working on how I can listen better. As a boss and an owner, how do I show my own frailties, admit my mistakes … and I think that gets people around you to admit their frailties and get to know themselves better.”
He added that he’ll have a similar, hands-off approach, like his father “but with some differences.”
Simon said the franchise, and the city will have a lot of momentum over the next couple of years with the rest of the Gainbridge Fieldhouse renovations and the NBA All-Star Game being hosted in Indianapolis in 2024.
He said owning the Indiana Pacers will be about building that championship-caliber team, but added that more importantly that goal will always be entwined with a goal of service to the community and to the fans who love the team so much.
