LOUISVILLE — It is still far from it’s final coat of paint and its finishing nail, but a large group of members of the media were given a sneak peak of the KFC Yum! Center on Thursday.

The 22,000-seat, $238 million multipurpose arena is scheduled to open Oct. 10 and will be completed on time, said Bill Hedge, construction executive for MA Mortenson Construction Co.

Walking in from the loading docks underneath the facility — situated between Second and Third streets on the north side of Main Street in downtown Louisville — onto the arena floor, the expansive building still provides an intimate setting. Three tiers of seating are split by luxury boxes and concession stands, with open ends on each side of the arena buttressed by loge seating.

On game days, removable seating will be in place, which will extend down onto the floor.

“The intimacy of this arena will be a huge benefit to [Louisville basketball],” said Jim Host, chairman of the Louisville Arena Authority, who conducted the tour.

But intimacy doesn’t necessarily mean that when you take your seat you’ll be squeezed up to the person that bought the ticket next to you. That’s because one of the unique features of the arena is the 20-inch-wide seats — most arena seats are 18 or 19 inches wide, Host said — that are located throughout the facility.

“There’s really not bad seats in this building,” he said.

The creature comforts on display at other arenas will also be a large part of the KFC Yum! Center. Included in the arena are a total of 71 suites on two levels, four party suites and 70 premium boxes. Accessible to all of the fans that enter into the arena will be the multitude of restaurants and bars circling its outer concourse — which doesn’t include the 321 concession stands or booths that will dot the facility. The glass bubble that faces the Indiana side of the Ohio River will house the Woodford Reserve restaurant and sports bar, which can seat 450 patrons and will be open to the public when there are events at the arena.

Directly across from the Woodford Reserve restaurant, the Kentucky Ale Taproom and Red Zone bar provides a unique experience for those looking to quench their thirst.

The reddish, iridescent bar area overlooks the court from the north side of the arena and allows visitors to continue watching the game while bellied up to the bar or sitting at a cocktail table just above the first bowl seating.



What you can’t see

Hidden from the view of the normal spectator is an already completed indoor practice area on the same level as the main floor, a feature that is found only at the U of L facility, Host said.

On either side of the practice room — which will double as an overflow area for media during special events and tournaments — are identical men’s and women’s locker rooms for the Louisville athletes. The opposing side of the arena will house multiple visitor’s locker rooms.

When the athletes run out onto the floor of the arena, it is unlikely they will be able to tell the floor itself is unique.  While it will be hidden during basketball games, the floor extends to 110 feet wide, so the arena can accommodate other NCAA events such as wrestling or ice hockey.

Being able to capitalize on events beyond basketball was a major consideration in keeping the floor wide and essential in developing the meeting rooms that are available for rent.

The four meeting rooms total 32,000 square feet of space, capable of holding more than 1,500 people; three of the rooms have a river view.

The river view was also a primary factor in choosing the location for the KFC Yum! Center.



Unique to Louisville

To determine what the arena would look like and what features were going to be included, the arena authority toured every similar facility that has been built within the last 15 years, Host said. The group then took the best characteristics of all of the other arenas and put them into Louisville’s downtown arena.

But one thing that is wholly unique to Louisville and that the other arenas would “kill for” is the site overlooking the river, Host said.

The location was chosen to also aid in renting out the meeting rooms in the off-season and to capitalize on the non-game day special events like Thunder Over Louisville, he said. Views are maintained throughout the building with expansive windows on every side.

Even the concourses along the Second Street Bridge and Third Street are opened up by windows. In those east and west wings, the arena will maintain its Kentucky roots with a display of Kentucky sports Hall of Fame members lining the walls, which will eventually include multimedia components.

The multimedia portion of the Hall of Fame display likely will not be complete for the first event — an Eagles concert — but they will be working when the Cardinals host their first game against the Butler University Bulldogs on Nov. 12.

“Some of the special systems and features that they’re adding will be ready and operational by the first basketball game,” Hedge said.

Also, a large glass atrium at the main entrance — off Main Street — is set behind an acre-and-a-half plaza that will greet fans to the arena and provide an outdoor space for downtown visitors and local businesses during the day.

The downtown site makes the arena unique, but traffic issues and the potential for floods has added extra concerns during the construction process, he said.

Overall, his expectations of the arena are high.

“It’ll be a hub, especially that plaza out there, it will be awesome,” he said.