Rupp Arena Renovations Bring New Look To Kentucky Basketball

Lexington, Kentucky, now features a new-look arena without dispensing of the tradition and history from the 1976-opened Rupp Arena.

Completion of a $310 million Central Bank Center expansion—a 10-year project covering planning and construction—wrapped up in 2022 and Kentucky Basketball opens its first season in the new-look Rupp Arena, complete with a fresh exterior façade, remade concourses and updated seating.

“The Central bank Center is a spectacular re-imagining of vital convention and arena space in the heart of downtown Lexington and our community,” says Tom Harris, University of Kentucky vice-president for university relations and acting vice-president for philanthropy and alumni engagement. “It will add to an already vibrant quality of life in Lexington.”

Opened in 1976, Rupp Arena has served as the home court of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team, as well has hosting a litany of concerts over the four-plus decades. After a 2014 announcement of updates to the complex, including the expanded convention center on site, construction has officially wrapped on the reimagined Central Bank Center. The phased updates to Rupp Arena has allowed the 23,000-plus-capacity venue to attract additional events, breaking previous audience attendance and revenue records from the building’s history. Final updateds to Rupp Arena this summer, open in time for the start of the Kentucky basketball season, included new premium club spaces.

“The redesign of Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center transforms the storied facility into a modern prototype for entertainment that connects to the surrounding city through a transparent, inviting experience,” says Robert Mankin, partner with NBBJ, the architectural firm responsible for the updated design.

The major aesthetic changes come from converting the arena and adjacent convention center from a nondescript box into an architectural focal point in the city. “The renovation of Rupp Arena aims to preserve the authenticity of the original building while creating a more dynamic, engaging experience for fans,” Mankin says.

The arena features a new suite level with amenities while preserving the original two-tier appearance in the seating bowl. The original structural towers were rehabilitated as a wayfinding element and new exhibition space, ballrooms and meeting spaces at the adjacent convention center give more usable room to the site. A multi-purpose space connects Rupp Arena with the convention center’s expo halls.

Overall, the convention center now features 100,000 square feet of exhibit hall space, a 25,000-square-foot multi-purpose ballroom, 16 meeting rooms and over 50,000 square feet of hospitality dining areas.

The changes in Rupp Arena include updates both inside and outside. Rupp’s seating (think: chair backs) and sightlines were updated, along with the addition of four new club spaces, an expanded three-floor concourse and a public plaza. The completely reconfigured exterior also brings natural light into the previously closed-off building.