UK committed to downtown arena

**BestdamnUKfanperiod** Sun Apr 18, 2010 7:36 pm

UK committed to downtown arena

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100417/SPORTS/4170357/1029/rss0703

t's a safe bet that the UK men's basketball program will remain in downtown Lexington for the foreseeable future.

The question now is how long the Wildcats will call Rupp Arena home.

At UK's athletic board meeting Monday, athletic director Mitch Barnhart and university President Lee Todd said there's no news to report concerning progress on a new men's basketball arena.

But Barnhart and Todd said that if and when UK builds a new arena — the school is studying the financial feasibility of new construction — it's likely to be downtown near Rupp Arena, not on campus.

Barnhart said UK is “open to everything” but that “the goal is to maintain a strength and community downtown.”

“I've been a proponent for the downtown arena since I got here,” Todd said. “When I first came in, we extended that (Rupp Arena) lease (through 2017-18) to mainly say, ‘We're going to be downtown,' because I think it's key to Lexington.”

When UK might be ready to move to a new downtown home is anyone's guess. Barnhart was asked last week whether UK is closer to the second inning or the ninth in determining funding for a new arena, and he replied, “It feels like extra innings.”

“It's about as complex a deal as I've ever been around,” he said. “It's not an easy, straightforward discussion. There's been a lot of curves in the road, so we're just working our way through it.”

Todd said a new downtown arena “will happen,” but he's hesitant to put a date on its arrival.

“It's likely some year,” he said. “The world's turned upside down since we first started talking about this. The financial capabilities have changed around the country. It's made it a little more difficult. The state's bonding situation is a little more difficult. Ours is as well.”

Asked if an arena would be constructed while he's the UK president, Todd smiled.

“I don't know how long I'm going to be president,” he said. “So I don't know if that's possible or not.”