Rupp Arena | |
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"The Cathedral of Basketball" | |
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Location | 432 W Vine St Lexington, KY 40506 |
Opened | 1976 |
Owner | Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government |
Operator | The Lexington Center |
Construction cost | $53 million |
Tenants | Kentucky Wildcats (Men's Basketball) Lexington Horsemen (af2) (2003-2009) Kentucky Thoroughblades (AHL) (1996-2001) Lexington Men O' War (ECHL) (2002-2003) 1985 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament KHSAA Boys' Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament |
Capacity | 23,500 |
Rupp Arena is an indoor arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. It is the centerpiece of Lexington Center, a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Lexington's consolidated city-county government. The arena was the host of the 1985 NCAA Final Four, won in an upset by Villanova University. With an official capacity of 23,500, it was the largest arena ever built specifically for basketball in the United States at the time of its opening in 1976. It is once again currently the largest basketball arena in the United States. In Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats almost always lead the nation in college basketball attendance.
History[]
The arena's primary tenant is the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball program. The women's basketball team has also hosted games there in recent years. It also formerly hosted the Kentucky Thoroughblades (currently the Worcester Sharks) and the Lexington Men O' War 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 23,500), conventions, and other events.