INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WISH) — Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E) CEO Mel Raines is enjoying her new role within the organization.

“It’s a really good time to be the head of Pacers Sports & Entertainment,” Raines said. “It’s two exciting teams, the new plaza, Commission Row, more interesting things to come, the Fever Performance Center. I feel pretty blessed to be sitting in the seat that I am right now.”

Raines, an Indiana native, has been with PS&E for ten years. Last summer, she became the first female CEO in the organization’s history.

And just last month, she received a major honor from USA Today, as it named Raines as a USA Today Women of the Year honoree.

“I was shocked when they contacted me,” Raines said. “And certainly honored and flattered. I don’t know that I understood what a big deal it was until I started hearing from a lot of people, not just from Indianapolis, but from all over the country.”

Raines took over as PS&E CEO after former CEO Rick Fuson retired. Fuson was in the organization for 40 years.

“My goal is to do the job as well as my predecessor, and hopefully better, and raise the bar so the next person who has it, whether they’re a man or a woman, takes over a company that’s thriving,” Raines said. “And that they realize that they have the pressure to do even better than I did.”

Raines said she wouldn’t be in the position she is now without the support and advice she’s received from Fuson over the years.

“I still call him every week, almost every day, with a question or looking for some advice,” Raines said. “And he has it off the top of his head. He’ll always be a mentor and friend of mine. And I’m really grateful to have him around still.”

Raines is Indiana through and through. She grew up in South Bend and played multiple sports (softball, basketball, volleyball, track, tennis and soccer).

Raines then attended Indiana University in Bloomington.

Raines spent a lot of her career in the politics world before her first role in the sports world, when she played a key part in helping Indianapolis prepare to host Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.

And now, years later, she continues to be an influential voice in the Indianapolis sports scene.

“We want to grow the business,” Raines said. “That’s what we’re here to do, and impact our community. And really the fan is at the center of that. Everything else derives from it. So, our focus on making everybody’s experience when they come here the best that it could possibly be, is something that we will be tireless in pursuing. And then our impact on the community. The Simon family and Herb Simon have always made that a priority. And Steven Rales, who’s now Herb’s partner, they care a lot about the community. And we want to make sure we’re impacting it in a number of really strategic ways.”

Raines has always put an emphasis on the fan experience, and that has led to a lot of her success, along with the success of PS&E.

“We’re really blessed to be able to be a part of people’s lives where they get to come and enjoy something whenever they’re in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, whether that’s a concert or professional bull riding or ‘Disney on Ice’ or basketball games,” Raines said. “They have a lot of places that they could go to spend their time and spend their money. And when they choose to do it here, we take it seriously. We want them to have a great time and we want to have a good time while we’re doing it.”

Based off last year, those fans are having a great time.

Just look at attendance for Indiana Fever games. In 2024, more than 300,000 fans watched Fever games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which set a new single-season WNBA attendance record.

What makes that even more special though for Raines was seeing all the young fans who showed up last year to support the team.

“As exciting as the little girls (fans), are the little boys that are wearing Fever jerseys,” Raines said. “And they’re coming into a full Gainbridge Fieldhouse – young boys and girls – and they assume that it should be a full house for the women, just like it is for the men. And it should be. And so, their expectation going forward, as Caitlin Clark’s and everyone else on the Fever, is that they’ll play in front of a full house. And that’s fantastic. That’s exactly how it should be.”