Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It is part of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. It 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 former Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp. It has an official capacity of 20,500 and also regularly hosts concerts, conventions and shows.
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History
The arena's primary tenant is the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, with the Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team hosting rivalry and power program opponent games at the venue in recent years. Rupp Arena was the host of the 1985 NCAA Final Four. It also formerly hosted the Kentucky Thoroughblades (currently the San Jose Barracuda) and the Lexington Men O' War minor-league hockey teams, the Lexington Horsemen arena football team, numerous concerts (theater capacity 2,300; concert hall capacity 10,000; arena capacity 20,500), conventions, and other events. The arena 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.
On January 27, 2020, it was announced that Lexington Center's overall naming rights were sold to Central Bank, a local community bank, by the Lexington Center Corporation and JMI Sports, which handles the multimedia rights for both the LCC and the University of Kentucky. The Rupp name will continue to receive primacy in the fourteen-year agreement for the arena portion of the complex, and be known as "Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center". Floor signage indicating the new naming arrangement was installed on Rupp Arena's basketball floor in time for the 2020–21 season.
Seating arrangement
The arena has an official capacity for basketball of 20,545 following a 2019 renovation project that was part of a larger renovation and expansion of Lexington Center. The most significant change to the arena was the installation of chairback seats in about half of the upper seating bowl.
Before the 2019 renovation, the official capacity was 23,500, but because of the former all-bleacher configuration of the upper seating bowl, it was possible to have more than 24,000 attendees. The lower bowl also incorporates a student standing-room area called the "eRUPPtion Zone" behind one goal. 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 oversized video boards, new lower bowl seating, new locker rooms, and a new court.
Milestones
The first act to perform at Rupp Arena was Lawrence Welk on October 17, 1976. The performance attracted 20,000 people to the newly opened facility.
Rupp Arena was set to host Elvis Presley live in concert on August 23, 1977. However, Presley died on August 16, exactly one week before the concert was scheduled.
The ceremonial first basket in the new facility was sunk by Adolph's young grandson Chip (Adolph III), who went on to play college basketball at Southeastern Conference (SEC) rival Vanderbilt.
Rupp Arena is the home court of the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, which boasts an overall record in Rupp Arena of 529-64 (.892) since beginning play there on November 27, 1976. The court itself is named Cawood's Court after longtime University of Kentucky football and men's basketball radio broadcaster Cawood Ledford.
Rupp staged three Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournaments between 1982 and 1993; it was also the host of the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament in 1992 and 1993.
It hosted WWE Backlash in 2006.
The Rupp Arena attendance record was set on January 2, 2010, when 24,480 people watched #3 Kentucky play rival Louisville. The final score was a 71–62 victory by the Kentucky Wildcats.
The UK men are the only basketball program in the SEC that plays home games in an off-campus facility. All of the other programs play on campus, including the UK women, who play in the men's former home of Memorial Coliseum. However, when the women's program expects an unusually large crowd, it will shift an occasional game to Rupp.
Rupp is also home to the annual KHSAA State Basketball Championship, known and trademarked as the Sweet Sixteen, with 16 boys' basketball teams from throughout the commonwealth appearing for a shot at the state title. The KHSAA girls' Sweet Sixteen will join the boys' event at Rupp in 2019.
2015 renovations
Rupp Arena was approved for various renovations in 2015 to improve 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.
The entire list of renovations as stated on UK Athletics' website include:
State-of-the-art Daktronics center-hung video board
15mm ribbon boards
Replaced 16mm LED corner video boards with 6mm LED video boards to produce HD quality image
L-Acoustics K2 line array sound system
Total sanding and repainting of the floor to reflect UK's updated branding and logo
New basketball goals and new shot clocks
Added press box seating to the east side of the arena
Replaced LED scorer's table with 6mm version and moved the old 10mm scorer's table to the opposite side of the floor for radio broadcast seating
Replaced static advertisement panels in lower four corners of the arena with LED advertisement panels
NCAA Tournament games
2025 First and Second Rounds
2013 Second and Third Rounds
2007 First and Second Rounds
2002 South Regional Semi-finals and Final
1998 First and Second Rounds
1996 Southeast Regional Semi-finals and Final
1994 First and Second Rounds
1992 Southeast Regional Semi-finals and Final
1989 Southeast Regional Semi-finals and Final
1985 NCAA Final Four
1984 Mideast Regional Semi-finals and Final
1980 Mideast Regional Semi-finals and Final
1977 Mideast Regional Semi-finals and Final
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.