Community leader, Pacers exec Jim Morris has died – Inside INdiana Business
INDIANAPOLIS – James Morris, vice chair of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, who has been one of central Indiana’s most influential business and civic leaders for more than six decades, died Friday night. He was 81.
“Last night, Indianapolis lost a true giant with the passing of my dear friend Jim Morris,” Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said Saturday in a statement. “Jim’s outsized impact on Indianapolis and our state will be felt for decades to come.”
Pacers officials announced the news Saturday morning.
“Morris was one of the most influential and impactful leaders in state history and helped shape the economic, social, and cultural landscapes of Indianapolis and Indiana over his 60-year professional career,” the Pacers organization said.
Morris helped usher in Unigov during his six years as chief of staff for then-Indianapolis Mayor Richard Lugar from 1967-73 and helped create IUPUI, which formally split into two universities—Indiana University-Indianapolis and Purdue University in Indianapolis—earlier this year.
He also helped develop Market Square Arena and establish the Indiana Sports Corp., and served as president of Lilly Endowment Inc., where he earmarked $25 million to help build the Hoosier Dome and raised funds for projects including the Indianapolis Zoo.
From 1989-2002, Morris was chair and CEO of Indianapolis Water Co./IWC Resources. And from 2002-2005, he served as executive director of the World Food Programme.
Morris returned to Indianapolis to join the Indiana Pacers in 2007 as president before moving into the role of vice chair of PS&E in 2014. Last year, he retired from the Indiana University board, where he served on and off for several decades, twice as chair.
“There are no words that would do justice to how consequential Jim’s life truly was,” Pacers owner Herb Simon said in a statement issued by the Pacers organization. “To his very last day, he was hard at work bringing people together to help those most in need and make our city and our state stronger, more civil, and more united. No one loved Indiana and Indianapolis more than Jim.