WBN Kentucky Wildcat Basketball Roundtablle – Rupp Arena: To Renovate or Not to Renovate?

As we all know, Lexington mayor Jim Gray kicked off a maelstrom of sorts when he announced that he was looking at a committee that would see the feasibility of renovating Rupp Arena rather than building an entire new facility.  Part of the reason for this of course, is the cost.  By some estimates, it may cost about half as much to renovate rather than to build a new arena.

As the new went out, parts of the BBN went into uproar.  There were reports that the renovation would do nothing more than add “luxury boxes”  and could actually reduce the capacity of Rupp Arena to 18,000.  Also consider the fact that the basketball Wildcats would be without a home for perhaps a season, causing speculation of games being played in Louisville’s Freedom Hall or Memorial Coliseum.

Immediately after that, reports came out that John Calipari, Mitch Barnhart, and Lee Todd were vehemently against the renovation and that Lee Todd met with Jim Gray to “get on the same page”.

This is definitely a hot button topic and even though I had a Rupp Arena Roundtable a couple of weeks ago, I could not pass up the opportunity to revisit this topic.  This weeks question is direct and to the point so let’s go to our panel:

Which side of the “renovate or rebuild” debate do you fall on and why? 

Greg Edwards, Wildcat Blue Nation: I have to say that I would be really surprised if any plan to renovate Rupp would really work. Corporate suites, luxury boxes, whatever you want to call them, just would not fit. And I just think that an arena with more seats, which would allow for more season ticket holders would be equally important.  Maybe I am just blind to it since I have been there so much, but I just do not see Rupp providing the kind of an experience that the fans are wanting with a remodel. And they need to bring the museum back to wherever they rebuild a new arena too.  Rupp has been the king of all courts for over 30 years. It has served us well. Now we need a new home that will last another 30-40 years. The Baron’s memory deserves it. And so do the fans.

Glenn Logan, A Sea of Blue:  I say renovate the arena, but leave out the corporate boxes.  Corporate boxes have become a plague on arenas throughout the United States. They serve to magnify class differences, and even though they are used primarily to make more money, I think Kentucky basketball should focus strictly on improving fan access to games — more seats and or better seats. Kentucky should buck the trend of corporate takeovers of the arena and focus on getting as many UK fans available seats as possible.  A new arena may be too costly to build the way that arenas have to be built these days, and if so, let’s not do it. Rupp Arena is large enough, even if it isn’t as large as we like, to serve for as many as 20 more years if properly renovated and updated. But the idea of reducing public seating for corporate boxes is a non-starter for me.

Jonathan North, Wildcat Blue Nation:  Rebuild it.  I was on the other side of things until I heard what all it would take to actually renovate a place like Rupp Arena, it would take away seating and I just think UK would be better off to start from the ground up. It would give them a chance to have the best arena in the nation and surpass the two nicest arenas in the country (Thompson Bowling and The Yum Center). The biggest thing about Rupp Arena is that it out of date and I don’t think a renovation could possibly bring the technology that the new arena will need. As bad as it sounds, I think Kentucky should go with the corporate sponsor route for more money, the arena will have a dull name but we can still name the court something like Rupp’s court or something of the sort. Build a new one and make everyone happy.

Ken Howlett, A Sea of Blue:  I’m an old-school traditionalist when it comes to venues, altering venues, or building new venues — I hated it when the Reds tore down Riverfront Stadium, so one can guess where I stand on the “renovate Rupp versus build a new Rupp” question.  Personally, I love Rupp Arena and always have. The sight-lines are very good from anywhere in the arena; the concessions are strategically placed, and the scoreboard is state of the art. That, plus the nearly 45 years of tradition Rupp has accumulated makes me very reticent to desire a new arena.  With that being said, if the decision-makers regarding this issue opt to build a new venue for the ‘Cats to play, I wouldn’t rail against the idea. I’m realistic enough to realize that college basketball has changed dramatically over the last 15-20 years, and the need to stay current are far as facilities are concerned is important.

Brian Eldridge, Kentucky Sports Report:  I’d like to see a new Rupp Arena or a new arena in general – one that is completely under the control of the University. That’s unlikely, but the ability to be in the lone tenant would allow for even more access for the team. I feel like an on-campus facility would more likely be more student friendly and will likely have more students closer to the floor. Rowdy crowds can be intimidating and Rupp Arena, while large, is like tomb most of the time.  I’m not sure that I want them to renovate Rupp Arena because there’s only so much money you can put into a building like that before you begin to waste resources. The facility is getting close to 40 years old and while it’s still a nice venue, there are so many things that need fixing, it might be better to just cut your losses and maybe have UK play there a couple times a year.

Paul Jordan:  Wildcat Blue Nation:  I have to say that I pretty much hate the idea of renovating, especially if it leads to a loss of seats.  And I don’t like the idea of rebuilding or renovating just to add corporate or luxury boxes.  Here in Orlando, we had to replace a perfectly fine 20 year old arena to add lower corporate boxes to keep the Magic in town.  So, I’m not a big fan of the corporate boxes.  In a way, I don’t want to see Rupp Arena go away.  But like Ken said, the nature of the sport has changed, and with Louisville rebuilding, Kentucky has to as well.  And to rebuild is the only way.    I don’t like the idea of a year in Freedon Hall.  Or at Memorial.  I would like to see UK try to finance it with private funds before going the taxpayer route and if anyone can raise that type of money it would be Calipari.  In a way, I think it is Calipari’s legacy to get a new arena built. 

That is it for this week on the WBN Roundtable, folks.  I have to admit, this is a bit more of a debate than I thought it would be.  I sort of assumed that everyone would go the rebuild route, but we see it was a 4-2 margin in our panel.  Feel free to comment below or email me any of your ideas for
future roundtables. 

Also did want to put in a plug for Brian Eldridge as he has agreed to do a weekly 2PM Sunday column on the WBN and we are proud to have him grace this site with his presence.  Have a good Sunday, BBN.

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