Rupp Arena
Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, which 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 legendary former Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp with an official capacity of 20,500. In 2014 and 2015, in Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team was second in the nation in college basketball home attendance.[6] Rupp Arena also regularly hosts concerts, conventions and shows.
History[edit]
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, won in an upset by eighth-seeded Villanova. It also formerly hosted the Kentucky Thoroughblades (currently the San Jose Barracuda) (capacity 10,011) and the Lexington Men O' War (capacity 7,500) minor-league hockey teams, and the Lexington Horsemen arena football team (capacity 7,550), numerous concerts (theater capacity 2,300; concert hall 10,000; arena capacity 20,500 approx.), conventions, and other events. It is named after University of Kentucky coaching legend Adolph Rupp, and 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".[7] Floor signage indicating the new naming arrangement was installed on Rupp Arena's basketball floor in time for the 2020–21 season.
Fan Support
Enthusiastic fan participation has been central to the Kentucky Basketball experience for decades, both prior to and during the Rupp Arena years. Crowds at Rupp Arena are usually full and enthusiastic, particularly for rivalry games (e.g., Louisville, Tennessee, and formerly, Indiana) and against Blue Blood opponents (e.g., North Carolina, Kansas).
Kentucky fans are passionate in their support, but also have a long-standing tradition of giving standing ovations near the end of games to opponents who turn in exceptional performances. These opponents include David Robinson, Billy Cunningham, Austin Carr, Pete Maravich, Bubba Parnham, Chris Jackson, Shaquille O'Neal, Elston Turner Jr., Lawrence Roberts, and Freeman Williams.
Fans take pride in never having rushed the court after a Kentucky victory, a nod to their generally lofty expectations of the program and perception that no Kentucky victory is ever truly an upset. Season tickets remain in high demand. Fans report that it can take more than 20 years to improve their seat location by just a few rows. Owing to the constant demand for tickets, seating at Rupp Arena for Kentucky games is notable for having very few students near the floor.
Kentucky fans additionally take pride in the fact that their standard for team banner-hanging is very high. They typically only hang banners for teams who reached the Final Four. They additionally take pride in not hanging banners for non-competitive championships, such as Helms Titles.
Kentucky fans often identify the following contests as being among the loudest in Rupp Arena history:
Traditions
In addition to impassioned support, other Rupp Arena Kentucky Basketball traditions include
Cheerleaders
The Kentucky Cheerleading squad is the most successful in the history of competitive collegiate cheerleading, having won 23 titles and 25 co-ed titles as of 2022. Kentucky has won more UCA Division-1 cheerleading titles than all other universities combined. Their most iconic stunt is the "2001: A Space Odyssey Theme", a rotating pyramid performed in conjunction with the pep band for decades.
Pep Band
The University of Kentucky Pep Band is one of the largest in the nation and is an essential part of the Kentucky basketball gameday experience. The band traditionally plays the opening bars of "The Lone Ranger Theme" leading into "On, On, U of K" (Kentucky's official fight song) just prior to tipoff, and a single trumpet player sounding the Call to the Post seconds before the jump ball. Kentucky's secondary fight song, "Kentucky Fight", is typically played in the pre-game, during the second half, or, on occasion, when the team is struggling. Other favorites through the years have been covers of "Hold On, I'm Coming", "Thriller", "Back in the "U.S.S.R.", "Leapfrog", "Hey Baby", "Blue Moon of Kentucky", and "Rock n Roll, Part 2". At game's end, the band always plays Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home", the Kentucky state song.
Seating arrangement[edit]
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.[8]
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 able to pack in more than 24,000 for many UK basketball games. 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.
Rupp Arena was approved for various renovations in 2015 to improve the 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.[19]
The entire list of renovations as stated on UK Athletics' website[20] include: