Rupp Arena was once the largest basketball arena in the country. See how it’s changed
Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.
When Rupp Arena opened on Oct. 17, 1976, it was considered to be the largest facility for basketball in the country, outside of places like the Astrodome and Superdome.
Built in stages, Rupp Arena initially was estimated to hold nearly 23,000 people and give each of them a view of a scoreboard. Four scoreboards measuring 35 feet long by four feet high were mounted in each corner of the arena, providing color-balanced displays that measured time down to one one-hundredth of a second. The four-story facility covered three acres, and Lexington Herald-Leader reporter D.G. Fitzmaurice called it the “Taj Mahal in sneakers.”
Touring the arena, Fitzmaurice said, “Gosh, I didn’t realize how big this place is.”
The facility opened with a concert from accordionist and television musician Lawrence Welk concert. More than 20,000 people filled the arena for the two-and-a-half-hour show. Welk brought his complete orchestra and television show family with him to christen the arena and open it for business.
By that time, Welk had been performing on television for nearly 20 years, starting with the “Dodge Dancing Party,” and later “Top Tunes and Talent.” Welk’s show on ABC went off the air in 1971 despite its success. The network wanted to go for a younger demographic, and released Welk and his orchestra.
Welk’s show went into syndication, and for another 11 years it was able to rule the Saturday evening time slot, pulling in record numbers of 45-years-old and older viewers.
At his Rupp Arena show, Welk welcomed legendary coach Adolph Rupp, for whom the arena was named, to the stage and handed him a baton. Rupp proceeded to lead the crowd in a rendition of “My Old Kentucky Home.”
Since then, Rupp Arena has been the home of the University of Kentucky Basketball programs games. The first basket in the facility was sunk by Rupp’s grandson Chip, who went on to play basketball for Vanderbilt. The men’s basketball team began play there on Nov. 27, 1976.
The arena set an attendance record on Jan. 2, 2010, when 24,480 people filled the stands to watch Kentucky beat rival Louisville, 71 to 62.
On Dec. 21, 2009, the UK men’s basketball team won its 2,000th game in Rupp Arena against the Drexel University Dragons. And on Nov. 8, 2010, ESPN ranked the arena the third-loudest venue in college basketball.
Rupp is also home to the state’s Sweet Sixteen in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s State Basketball Championship. The facility has also been host to WWE Smackdown, and many concerts of all genres, including Elton John, The Rolling Stones, George Strait, Billy Joel, Guns N’ Roses, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Taylor Swift, Drake, P!nk and Fall Out Boy.
In 2015, a $15.8 million renovation added a center scoreboard, advertising ribbon boards, wireless internet for fans and other improvements. The latest renovation, including upgrades to the Central Bank Center, started in 2019 and completed in 2022 included a new façade, upgraded seating, a new suite level, expanded club and hospitality areas and improved technology systems at a cost of $310 million.
The renovation also included an expanded concourse, a new public plaza and the addition of new meeting and exhibit spaces for the convention center.
Have a question or story idea related to Lexington’s 250-year history? Let us know at 250LexKy@gmail.com.