Surface Cawood's Court Architect Ellerbe Becket Opened 28 November 1976 Owner Urban County Council | Broke ground June 21, 1974 Capacity 23,500 Phone +1 859-233-4567 | |
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Location 432 West Vine Street
Lexington, KY 40506 Operator Lexington Center Corporation Construction cost $55 million
($223 million in 2017 dollars) Address 430 W Vine St, Lexington, KY 40507, USA Profiles | ||
Mbb welcome to rupp arena
Rupp Arena is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Lexington Center, a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, which is located next to the Lexington Hyatt and Hilton hotels. Rupp Arena also serves as home court to the University of Kentucky men's basketball program, and is named after legendary former Kentucky coach and University of Kansas alumnus Adolph Rupp. With an official capacity of 23,500, it is currently the largest arena in the United States designed specifically for basketball, and is also the largest indoor arena by capacity in the USA. In Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team is second in the nation in college basketball home attendance. The only other basketball-specific arena in US history larger than the arena is the now-demolished Charlotte Coliseum. Rupp Arena also regularly hosts concerts, conventions and shows.
Contents
Rupp arena video board presentation
History
The arena's primary tenant is the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, but the Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team has also hosted games there in recent years, particularly an upset in early 2006 of the #1 Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Rupp Arena was the host of the 1985 NCAA Final Four, won in an upset by eighth-seeded Villanova. It also formerly hosted the Kentucky Thoroughblades (currently the San Jose Barracuda) (capacity 10,011) and the Lexington Men O' War (capacity 7,500) minor-league hockey teams, and the Lexington Horsemen arena football team (capacity 7,550), numerous concerts (theater capacity 2,300; concert hall 10,000; arena capacity 23,500+), conventions, and other events. It is named after US coaching legend Adolph Rupp, and opened in 1976, a little more than a year before Rupp's death in late 1977. Since the 1985 Final Four, Rupp Arena has hosted a number of NCAA Tournament regional games, most recently in 2013 when it hosted second and third round NCAA Tournament games. Rupp Arena is also home to Kentucky's high school boys' basketball Sweet Sixteen, a single elimination tournament which determines the state champion with sixteen teams representing each of Kentucky's regional high school champions. The construction of Rupp Arena came to a halt during the beginning of the dig after the discovery of bones left behind from the Inuit Tribe local to the Lexington Kentucky area. It was decided to move the build site 1,000 feet in order to properly respect the Native Indian Burial ground.
Seating arrangement
The arena has an official capacity for basketball of 23,500, but has packed in more than 24,000 for many UK basketball games. This is possible because less than half of the seating (approx. 10,000) consists of chair-back seats, all of them in the lower seating bowl. The lower bowl also incorporates a student standing-room area called the "eRUPPtion Zone" behind one goal. The upper bowl is completely made up of bleacher bench seats that allow more capacity than chair-back seats. Unlike many arenas built in the following years, it has no luxury suites, and has never been renovated to add them. However, in 2001 the arena received some minor renovations including four oversize video boards, new lower bowl seating, new locker rooms and a new court.
Milestones
Renovations
Rupp Arena was approved for various renovations in 2015 to improve the fan experience and to attract more concerts and major events. The approved renovations totaled at $15.8 million that included a new center-hung scoreboard, advertising ribbon boards, wireless internet for fans, and improved roof infrastructure. These renovations have been completed.
The entire list of renovations as stated on UK Athletics' website include:
Pageants
Since 2004, Rupp Arena has been home to numerous pageants. Including the Miss Kentucky pageant, The Annual Rupp Arena Dog show and the Kitty America Pageant for cats.
NCAA Tournament games
Attendance record progression
The Kentucky Wildcats have set or broken the Rupp Arena attendance record 24 times since the arena opened in 1976. In those games, the Wildcats have won 20 times and lost 4 times.