How important is a "new" Rupp Arena?

With the Internet abuzz with recent purposed drawings of the new Rupp Arena, many questions have been brought to the table regarding the famed arena in Lexington. The idea of a new arena has been in the works for several years, so it is nothing new to hear rumors about where it would be built, how much it would cost, and what it would look like. However, with sketches popping up on ISG’s website, a British based group who succeed in maximizing revenue from general stadium seating, the rumors are back.

The ‘new’ drawings (which have since been taken down) have sent some into frenzy with the hope that soon, Kentucky would be playing in a new arena that either graced the landscape of Lexington’s downtown area or sat pleasantly in an on-campus friendly arena that keyed in on the student-life. The catch is that the picture/drawing isn’t real. Sure it’s been drawn, but no one has officially said that this drawing is what the new arena for Kentucky basketball would look like. With all the talk, I thought I’d take a look into some of the pros & cons of building a new “Rupp” Arena.

PROS:
* Kentucky Wildcats basketball has finally hit the age of modernism. It wasn’t really about how it would happen but when. A lot of college programs are running away from the cramped gymnasiums (Butler, Duke, Kansas), built more for atmosphere rather that aesthetic appeal. Much like Rupp, these arenas/stadiums have been the home to their college basketball team for year. Schools like Virginia, Nebraska, Auburn, and now Louisville have stepped up their efforts into building a new, high-tech, state-of the art arenas that maximize fan experience. Rupp Arena is old; built in 1976, and has seen its fair share of memorable games, including a Final Four.

The time is now to move forward with building a new arena for Kentucky. With the arrival of John Calipari it is now time to stop focusing so much of our attention on our history and instead, focus on what is in front of us. The old saying has always been, “what have you done for me lately?” Kentucky can’t say a whole lot, but they can say they’ve just brought in the “sexy” name of college basketball head coaches, who regularly brings in the star-studded talent to have fans ooze with championship dreams. Why not grace the ‘changing of the guard’ with a new, high-tech, state of the art facility to usher in this new period in Kentucky basketball history?

* I mentioned Louisville as being one of the schools building a new arena to accommodate the best experience for watching Cardinals basketball games. I cannot understate the importance of Kentucky rivaling Louisville on anything they do with their basketball and football programs. The construction of Louisville’s new arena should be felt as a slap in the face for Kentucky fans.
A new arena…for LOUISVILLE?!? Whhhaaat? In recent years, Louisville basketball has trumped the Cats in terms of overall success and now they are building what is to be one of the flashiest arenas in college basketball. Kentucky fans and Lexingtonians alike should feel the desire to one-up their in-state rivals.

CONS:
* Let’s face it people. With this being the day and age of corporate America, do you really think that the new arena for Kentucky Wildcats basketball would still be named after the famed and legendary coach who started it all? I highly doubt it. The former Joe B. Hall Wildcat Lodge now stands to be called the Wildcat Coal Lodge having absolutely zero recognition of our former NCAA Championship winning head coach of 1978. That’s the reality these days. Money talks and when it talks you have to listen. The private financiers of the $7 million construction of the new player’s lodge spoke and they wanted the word “coal” involved with the name of the lodge in some way, shape, or form. Would the construction of a new basketball arena be any different with giant construction moguls like ISG and IMG on board? Doubtful. Or how about hundreds of private investors looking to put advertisements all over the new arena. It would be a field day for companies to get their hands on a piece of the new “Rupp” arena.

The name would be corporate and have some kind of big company heading to the official name of the new arena. Rupp most like would not be involved but could be recognized in some sense of the matter. How about a statue outside the arena a la the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan? I mean, Rupp did run the Kentucky program for some forty years and did win four NCAA Championships. He’s due some kind of recognition.

* Tax dollars! So much of the drama behind building new arenas that are this expensive is who will be paying for this? In many instances, cities around the United States lean heavily on tax-payers to pony up their hard-earned money to help construct the said project. It is a double-edged sword because many could care less if a state of the art arena was built for the town’s college team. On the other hand, there are still those who would be willing to do so much more to realize a new arena for their favorite college sports team. The hub-bub surrounding the construction of a new arena in Lexington would deal with whether the tax-payers of Lexington have to put their own money into the project. Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart has stated several times that the construction would be funded by private investors and in no way lean on the people of the state of Kentucky. If private investors do indeed take the brunt of the cost with the construction of this new arena, I’d think many would be in favor.

Those are just some of the very few PROS and CONS to the entire situation. Consider it a first discussion on the arena situation on this blog as this topic is not going away. There are very loud voices on both sides of this debate.

Some believe it would be a complete disaster to Lexington’s future success as a city. Others like myself think it would be a great idea for the future of Kentucky basketball. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes of everything.

Andrew Hardison is a recent UK alum and frequent contributor to Wildcat Blue Blog. You can find more Andrew Hardison articles on his Kentucky Examiner site.

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