Rent a Bus to Old National Centre: The Complete Transportation Guide

If you are organizing a group night out at Old National Centre, the question that trips up most organizers isn't which show to see — it's how to move fifteen, thirty, or fifty people through downtown Indianapolis and get everyone back home at midnight without somebody stuck circling for parking on New Jersey Street. That single logistical problem is what this guide solves. It covers where your bus drops off and picks up at the venue, how the parking situation works on show nights, which vehicle fits your group, and what the trip actually costs — all in plain terms, based on what the venue and the city actually publish.

Party Buses Indianapolis handles concert and event nights at Old National Centre regularly, so the advice below comes from doing this run, not from a generic transportation checklist. Whether your group is headed to the Murat Theatre for a Broadway run, the Egyptian Room for a sold-out club show, or The Deluxe for an intimate concert, the logistics are the same — and getting them right is the difference between a smooth night and a post-show parking nightmare. For the full picture of how we handle concert and event nights, see our Indianapolis concert party bus rental service.

What Is Old National Centre and Where Is It?

Old National Centre sits at 502 N. New Jersey Street in downtown Indianapolis, in the Massachusetts Avenue arts district just northeast of Monument Circle. The building has been part of Indianapolis since 1909, when it opened as the Murat Temple — the home of the Indianapolis Shriners, who designed it with Moorish architectural flourishes inspired by mosques of the Middle East and Egypt. Winston Churchill spoke here in 1932.

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra called it home until 1963. Today it is operated by Live Nation and hosts some of the most diverse concert and event programming in central Indiana.

The reason groups love this venue — and the reason getting there matters so much — is that Old National Centre is not one room. It is a complex of distinct spaces, each with its own atmosphere and capacity. The Murat Theatre, the flagship room, seats up to 2,500 and hosts Broadway touring productions, major solo artists, and comedy legends.

The Egyptian Room — an ornate 16,000-square-foot ballroom with hand-carved Egyptian murals, gold-painted columns, and soaring wood chandeliers — holds 2,000 standing or roughly 900 for seated shows, and is the premier mid-capacity concert room in the city. Corinthian Hall accommodates up to 600 guests. The Deluxe is the intimate club-scale room inside the complex.

Depending on which room your show is in, the entrance and the energy feel completely different — which is part of why Old National Centre keeps groups coming back.

Where Your Bus Drops Off and Picks Up at Old National Centre

Here is the part that matters most and that most rental pages leave fuzzy. So let's go straight to the venue's own guidance.

Rideshare vehicles and taxis drop off and pick up at the front door on Alabama Street, directly under the theatre's marquee. That is the curbside drop point published by the venue, and it is exactly where a charter bus can pull up to unload your group. Alabama Street runs along the front face of the building, and the main lot entrance — at 501 Alabama Street — sits right beside it, so the geography is simple: your bus rolls up Alabama, your group steps off at the marquee, and the bus pulls away to wait or park.

For pickup after the show, the same curbside works — but timing is everything. When a 2,500-person Murat Theatre show lets out, Alabama Street and New Jersey Street both fill with pedestrian traffic and rideshare vehicles within about ten minutes of the final curtain. Groups that pre-arrange a meeting spot on New Jersey Street (the secondary entrance side, at the North Lot at the corner of North Street and New Jersey Street) often get out faster, since that side clears before the Alabama Street marquee congestion fully resolves.

Tell your bus coordinator which entrance your specific show uses — Murat Theatre and Egyptian Room often use different lobby exits — so the bus is on the right street for pickup.

Why the Post-Show Pickup Window Matters

Old National Centre sits in a walkable stretch of downtown Indianapolis, but it is not designed for large-scale vehicle queuing. Alabama Street is a one-way corridor, and when a full Murat Theatre show ends, the curbside is flooded immediately. Rideshare wait times routinely spike to 20 or 30 minutes in the surge window right after curtain call, which means passengers are standing on the sidewalk in the cold — or the heat — while a dozen cars fail to connect.

A pre-arranged bus sidesteps all of that: your group walks out knowing exactly where the bus is waiting, and the whole party loads at once instead of trickling out in ones and twos across a 45-minute window. That post-show efficiency is the single biggest practical argument for a bus to Old National Centre, and it applies whether your group is twelve people or fifty.

Parking at Old National Centre: What Actually Happens on Show Nights

Old National Centre has two lots directly associated with the venue, both managed by Downtown Indy parking operations. The Main Lot at 501 Alabama Street sits directly in front of the marquee, entered off Alabama. The North Lot at the corner of North Street and New Jersey Street is entered off North Street.

Both lots carry a $10 daily rate, with $15 reserved event parking available for purchase in advance. Mobile payment is accepted via text-to-park signs posted in the lot.

Here is what the rate card doesn't tell you: both lots fill early on high-demand nights, and Old National Centre shows can stack against Pacers games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and events at the Convention Center, all pulling from the same downtown parking supply at the same time. On a Saturday night with a sold-out Egyptian Room show and a Pacers home game a few blocks away, those $10 lots are gone by 7 p.m. The overflow options are real — SpotHero, ParkWhiz, and the surrounding street grid all have inventory — but they require advance booking and a walk ranging from half a block to several blocks, depending on what's available.

Several nearby garages price at $20 or more on event nights, and walk-up rates near the Convention Center can climb higher still.

The math for a group: ten cars need ten parking spaces, ten separate payment transactions, and ten people who have to remember where they parked after two hours of music. One bus needs none of that. For the groups that do drive, we always recommend checking SpotHero's Old National Centre parking page and reserving a spot before the day of the show — waiting until you arrive is a reliable way to end up three blocks away paying $25 to a private lot.

Which Vehicle Fits Your Group?

The right vehicle is the one that seats your whole group comfortably and doesn't leave anyone scrambling for a separate rideshare. Here is how our fleet breaks down for an Old National Centre run.

For most concert groups headed to the Egyptian Room or The Deluxe, a 20- to 35-passenger minibus is the sweet spot — it maneuvers easily on the tight downtown grid, parks without the oversized-vehicle coordination of a full charter bus, and seats the kind of mid-size group that typically goes out together for a show. For Broadway nights at the Murat Theatre, where groups tend to be larger and older, a full-size charter bus with reclining seats, climate control, and an onboard restroom makes the round-trip comfortable — especially if your group is coming in from suburbs like Carmel, Fishers, or Zionsville. ADA-accessible vehicles are always available; let us know when you book so we can have the right option ready.

What Does It Cost to Rent a Bus to Old National Centre?

Party bus and charter bus pricing is shaped by a handful of clear factors, and any honest answer has to start there. Your quote depends on:

• Vehicle size — a 14-passenger Sprinter limo and a 56-passenger charter bus price differently.
• Total hours — from the moment the bus is dedicated to your group until the final drop-off, including any pre-show stops.
• Date — weekend shows and nights that coincide with major downtown events run at higher demand.
• Pickup location and mileage — a pickup from Broad Ripple is a different run than Greenwood or Noblesville.

For real ranges to anchor your planning: 14-passenger Sprinter limos run $170–$344/hour; 15–20 passenger party buses run $204–$378/hour; 20–30 passenger party buses run $244–$414/hour; 35–50 passenger minibuses and party buses run $294–$490/hour; and 40–56 passenger charter buses run $150–$300/hour. Pricing depends on mileage, time of year, and vehicle type, but you will never be surprised by hidden costs. The fastest way to a real number is to call 317-229-6481 with your headcount, pickup location, and show date.

Here is the per-person math worth doing. A night at Old National Centre for a group of thirty means roughly six or seven separate cars, each paying $15–$25 in event parking plus gas. That's already $90–$175 before accounting for the designated-driver problem — and someone in each car cannot drink.

One minibus splits the total across all thirty passengers and gives everyone the freedom to enjoy the evening from the first pre-show drink. For groups past a handful of cars, the bus is almost always the smarter financial move as well as the more enjoyable one.

A Real Concert Night Example

To put a number behind the logic: a 28-person group coming in from Carmel for an Egyptian Room show last spring booked a 35-passenger minibus. Pickup from a central suburban parking lot in Carmel at 6:30 PM, stop at a bar on Mass Ave at 7:15 PM, drop-off at the Alabama Street marquee by 8:00 PM — thirty minutes before doors. Post-show pickup staged on New Jersey Street at the North Lot side at 11:00 PM, group loaded and moving by 11:20 PM, everyone back in Carmel by midnight.

The 6-hour all-inclusive rental came to $1,980 — about $71 per person — with every car, every parking spot, and every designated-driver headache already solved.

Downtown Indianapolis on Concert Nights: What to Know

Old National Centre sits in one of the most event-dense blocks of downtown Indianapolis. Gainbridge Fieldhouse — home of the Indiana Pacers — is less than a mile south. Lucas Oil Stadium is roughly a mile southwest.

The Indiana Convention Center runs events year-round. When the calendar stacks, and it does stack on Friday and Saturday nights, downtown parking inventory tightens fast and the surface streets between New Jersey Street and Capitol Avenue fill with event traffic from multiple directions at once.

The downtown inner loop where I-65 and I-70 merge creates consistent congestion on event nights, particularly heading into the core from the south and west. Groups coming in from the south side on I-65 or from the west side on I-70 should build in an extra 15 to 20 minutes on busy nights — what looks like a 25-minute drive can run 45 when Lucas Oil Stadium and Old National Centre are both busy simultaneously. A bus coordinates that buffer into the departure time, so the group leaves when it should rather than leaving late and scrambling at the door.

IndyGo does serve downtown Indianapolis with routes converging at the Julia M. Carson Transit Center at 201 East Washington Street, and the Red Line BRT runs north-south through the core, but neither offers direct, door-to-door service to Old National Centre for a group coming in from the suburbs with shopping bags, coats, and a birthday cake. For groups of a certain size coming from outside the core, public transit is not a realistic option — a charter bus is.

The Rooms at Old National Centre: A Group Planner's Breakdown

Because Old National Centre is a complex of distinct rooms rather than a single venue, knowing which room your show is in changes the planning calculus.

Murat Theatre

The flagship room, seating up to 2,500, hosts the Murat Theatre's Broadway in Indianapolis series, major touring comedians, and large solo concerts. Shows here tend to be ticketed, seated, and family-friendly — the kind of outing where a corporate group buys a block of orchestra seats or a church group makes a night of a touring musical. The crowd is older and the lobby is wide, which is both an advantage (spacious bathrooms, good concessions) and a logistical note: post-show egress takes a few minutes longer for a 2,500-person room than for the smaller spaces.

The Alabama Street marquee entrance is the primary entry point.

Egyptian Room

The Egyptian Room is the concert heart of Old National Centre — 16,000 square feet of ornate ballroom with gold-painted columns, hand-carved Egyptian murals, and a flexible layout that shifts between standing-room concerts (2,000 capacity) and seated shows (roughly 900). This is where touring acts at the mid-size level play Indianapolis: the kind of show where the energy runs high, the drinks are flowing, and the group actually needs to get home safely at midnight. It is, in other words, the room where a party bus earns its keep most directly.

The Egyptian Room entrance is on New Jersey Street, which means pickup logistics favor the North Lot side.

The Deluxe and Corinthian Hall

The Deluxe is the intimate room — Victorian accents, club-scale capacity, the kind of space where you're twenty feet from the stage and the performer can see your face. Corinthian Hall (up to 600 guests) sits in the 1909 wing and works equally well for private events, corporate buyouts, and smaller ticketed shows. For groups booking a private event at either space, a minibus or party bus that swings by the hotel pickups and brings everyone together is often the most elegant solution — everyone arrives together instead of staggering in across a 45-minute window.

Trip Types We Handle to Old National Centre

Different groups, same goal: everyone shows up together, enjoys the night, and gets home without anyone stuck behind the wheel.

• Bachelorette and birthday parties. Pre-show drinks on Massachusetts Avenue, bus to the Egyptian Room, post-show stop — the whole arc managed without anyone driving. The party starts the moment the bus leaves the first pickup.
• Corporate and work group outings. An office holiday party, a team-building night at the Murat Theatre, or a client entertainment evening — one minibus handles hotel pickups and delivers the whole group together. Amenities like WiFi and USB charging keep the evening comfortable from door to door.
• Broadway groups. Churches, book clubs, theatre associations, and school alumni groups booking block seating at the Murat Theatre for touring productions of MJ the Musical, holiday ballet performances, or comedy runs. A full-size charter bus brings everyone in from the suburbs as a single coordinated group and takes everyone home after curtain call.
• Concert nights at the Egyptian Room. Standing-room shows with a high-energy crowd where nobody wants to be the designated driver and everyone wants to stay until the encore. A party bus with a built-in bar, color-changing LEDs, and Bluetooth sound turns the ride back into the second act of the evening.
• Private event shuttles. Buyouts and private events at Corinthian Hall or The Deluxe often need a hotel-to-venue shuttle to bring guests in from properties like the Westin or Marriott downtown. A minibus running a regular loop handles this cleanly without the chaos of individual rideshare arrivals.

Building a Pre-Show Itinerary on Mass Ave

One of the best things about Old National Centre's location is what surrounds it. The Massachusetts Avenue arts corridor runs immediately adjacent, giving groups a genuine pre-show itinerary before doors open. The strip runs northeast from Monument Circle through the Old National Centre block and beyond, lined with bars, restaurants, and small venues that work perfectly for an hour of pregame before the show.

Popular stops groups hit before an Old National Centre show include Holliday Park, Bier Brewery, Gallery Pastry Shop, and dozens of spots along Mass Ave itself. A bus makes this easy: pickup from your hotel or home base, one or two stops on the corridor, then the marquee drop-off. Nobody is watching the clock on a parking meter or calculating who is sober enough to drive to the next spot.

The group just moves.

For groups coming in from outside Marion County — Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Greenwood, Avon — this itinerary structure also solves the late-night suburban return. Instead of trying to rideshare 35 people back to scattered addresses across the metro, the bus gathers everyone at the New Jersey Street pickup point after the show and makes a clean run back to a central suburban meeting spot.

Booking, Timing, and When to Call

A few questions we hear constantly about Old National Centre nights, answered plainly:

• How far in advance should we book? For Saturday night shows at the Murat Theatre during the Broadway season (typically fall through spring), three to six weeks of lead time is the comfortable window. For Egyptian Room shows with shorter booking windows, two weeks is generally fine — but the closer to a weekend, the sooner the right vehicles go. For New Year's Eve, the IndyCar Grand Prix week in May, or any weekend that stacks multiple major downtown events, call as early as your show date is confirmed.
• Can the bus wait while we're inside? Yes. The bus is reserved as a block of hours, so it waits nearby during the show and is right there when you walk out. You set the post-show pickup window with our team when you book, so there is no uncertainty at 11:30 PM when the lobby empties.
• Can we make stops on the way? Absolutely. Pre-show restaurant stops, post-show bar visits, hotel drop-offs on the way home — the itinerary is yours. Just build the extra time into your booking so the bus is reserved for the full arc of the evening.

Booking is simple: call 317-229-6481 with your headcount, pickup location, show date, and any pre- or post-show stops you are planning, and we will send you an all-inclusive quote in under 30 seconds. No hidden costs, no surprises.

Tips for a Smooth Old National Centre Night

A few things every group should know before show night, pulled from the venue's own published rules and policies:

• Clear bags only, and keep them small. Per the official Murat Theatre rules and policies, the venue permits clear plastic bags no larger than 12" x 12" x 6" and small clutches or wristlets no larger than 6" x 9". Oversized bags, backpacks, and suitcases are not permitted. Tell your group before they show up at the door with a tote bag.
• Factory-sealed water only, no outside food or drinks. Factory-sealed water bottles up to 20 ounces are permitted. Outside food and beverages are not — the venue has its own food and drink service. Cans, glass bottles, and thermoses are turned away at the door.
• No re-entry. The Murat Theatre does not allow re-entry during performances, so make sure the group is ready to go in and stay in.
• No pro cameras, recording devices, or selfie sticks (unless artist-approved). This varies by show, so check the specific event's policy.
• The venue is smoke-free with designated outdoor smoking areas.
• Children under 2 are free but must sit on a parent's lap. Most shows are family-friendly unless otherwise noted — check the event listing for any age restrictions.
• Box office hours are Monday through Thursday 11 AM–6 PM, Friday 10 AM–6 PM, closed weekends except on show days. Call (317) 231-0000 for show-day hours and specific event questions.

What's on at Old National Centre in 2026

Old National Centre's 2026 calendar is one of the most diverse in Indianapolis, running from Broadway touring productions and major comedians to high-energy standing-room concerts in the Egyptian Room and intimate club nights in The Deluxe. The Murat Theatre's Broadway series consistently draws group bookings for shows like the MJ the Musical run in January 2026 and holiday productions like the Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet in December.

Artists like Sting, Little Big Town, and touring Broadway productions keep the Murat calendar active through autumn and into the holiday season. The Egyptian Room hosts a year-round stream of mid-size touring acts that tend to book out quickly once tickets go on sale.

For the most current show listings and upcoming events, the official Murat Theatre events page and the Live Nation Old National Centre page are the most reliable sources. Book your bus as soon as your show tickets are confirmed — the right vehicle for a sold-out Saturday night goes faster than the show does.

Transportation Options for Old National Centre: An Honest Comparison

We are a bus company, but we will be straight with you: a private bus is not automatically the right move for every group. Here is what the options actually look like for a group headed to Old National Centre.

For two or three people heading downtown from a nearby neighborhood, a rideshare is fine — no reason to charter a bus for a pair. But once your group crosses the threshold where it takes more than two cars to move everyone, the coordination math starts working against you. Three cars means three parking searches on a busy show night, three people who can't drink, and three separate pickups at midnight when the rideshare pool in front of the Alabama Street marquee is already twenty people deep.

One bus solves all three problems in one line item.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly does a charter bus drop off at Old National Centre?

The primary drop-off point is curbside on Alabama Street at the front marquee entrance — the same location the venue directs rideshare vehicles. For post-show pickup, the New Jersey Street side near the North Lot (corner of North Street and New Jersey Street) often clears faster after large shows, since the Alabama Street marquee side fills with foot traffic and waiting vehicles quickly. Confirm which entrance your specific room uses when you book, because the Egyptian Room and Murat Theatre load in and out from different sides.

Is there charter bus parking at Old National Centre?

Old National Centre has two associated surface lots — the Main Lot at 501 Alabama Street and the North Lot at the corner of North Street and New Jersey Street — with a standard event rate of $15 reserved and $10 daily. These lots are sized for passenger cars and fill early on sold-out show nights. A charter bus would need to wait on a nearby street or in a larger lot during the show and come back for pickup.

When you book, confirm the pickup plan with our team so the bus knows where to be before your group walks out.

How much does it cost to rent a party bus to Old National Centre?

Pricing depends on vehicle size, total hours, your pickup location, and the date. As a guide: 14-passenger Sprinter limos run $170–$344/hour; 15–20 passenger party buses run $204–$378/hour; 20–30 passenger party buses run $244–$414/hour; 35–50 passenger minibuses run $294–$490/hour; and 40–56 passenger charter buses run $150–$300/hour. Pricing depends on vehicle type, mileage, and date, with no hidden costs.

Call 317-229-6481 with your headcount and show date for an all-inclusive quote in under 30 seconds.

How far in advance should we book for a show at Old National Centre?

Two to four weeks is typically workable for most Egyptian Room and Murat Theatre dates. For Saturday nights during the Broadway season (October through April), book three to six weeks out. For New Year's Eve, IndyCar weekend in May, or any date that stacks multiple major downtown events, call as soon as your show tickets are confirmed — weekends in those windows fill vehicle supply quickly across the Indianapolis market.

What is the bag policy at Old National Centre?

The venue allows clear plastic bags no larger than 12" x 12" x 6" and small clutches or wristlets no larger than 6" x 9". Oversized bags, backpacks, and suitcases are not permitted. One factory-sealed water bottle up to 20 ounces per person is allowed; outside food and drinks are not.

Check the official rules and policies page before your show, as individual events may have additional restrictions.

Can the bus stay with us for a pre-show dinner on Mass Ave?

Yes. The bus is reserved as a block of hours, so the itinerary is yours to build. The most common pattern for groups coming in from the suburbs is: bus picks up at a central meeting point, one stop for dinner or drinks on Massachusetts Avenue, then a marquee drop-off before doors open.

Post-show, the bus is waiting nearby and ready to load. Tell us the full itinerary when you book so we size the hours correctly.

Do you have ADA-accessible buses for Old National Centre trips?

Yes — ADA-accessible vehicles are available. Just let us know your group's needs when you book so we can have the right vehicle and equipment ready for your show date.

What happens if the show runs long?

The bus is waiting nearby and your pickup window is set when you book. If the show runs longer than expected, let us know and we will adjust — our reservation team is reachable throughout your evening. Build in a reasonable buffer between your expected end time and your booked pickup window to keep things flexible.

Book Your Old National Centre Bus Today

The right bus for your Old National Centre night is just a call away. Whether it is a 20-person birthday group headed to the Egyptian Room, a 50-person office party at the Murat Theatre, or a bachelorette crew making a full night of Mass Ave and the show, Party Buses Indianapolis has the fleet to move your group comfortably and bring everyone home together. Give us a call any time at 317-229-6481 for an all-inclusive price quote in under 30 seconds — or use our online tool for instant availability.

Lock in your date as soon as your tickets are confirmed, and let the bus handle everything from the first pickup to the last drop-off.