The collaborative project between People for Urban Progress (PUP) and IndyGo to salvage historic Bush Stadium seating and repurpose them as benches at bus stops, dubbed the PUPstop program, won an Indiana Innovation Award.

The awards program is the centerpiece of the Day of Innovation hosted by Centric Indy, a local coalition with a mission to elevate Indianapolis as a globally recognized center for innovation.

The PUPstop project had its genesis in a meeting between PUP and IndyGo to explore locally crafted modular seating for bus stops. Alongside this conversation, PUP had been working to salvage the landfill-bound historic Bush Stadium seating from the site of the now complete Stadium Lofts in the 16 Tech redevelopment project. The PUPstop program turned out to be a great fit for both organizations.

“The collaboration with PUP on the stadium seating project is a model for innovation in the public sector,” said Samantha Cross, IndyGo VP, business development. “We hope it inspires others to take a fresh look at public spaces, infrastructure and collaboration.”

To make even more of an impact on transit stops in Indianapolis, IndyGo and PUP have created the program with a cost-sharing component whereby local businesses, community groups and even individuals can sponsor PUPstops. Thanks to cost sharing, within the next few months IndyGo will have placed nearly 20 PUPstops around the city.