‘Momentous:’ Once troubled Rupp, convention center expansion hits key milestone
The more than $300 million expansion of Central Bank Center and Rupp Arena reached a key milestone Thursday.
The final structural beam, adorned with stakeholders’ signatures, an American flag and a live evergreen tree — signifying good luck and prosperity — was placed on the new exhibit hall space.
“This is a momentous occasion,” said Bob Elliston, president of the Lexington Center Corporation board, which oversees the Central Bank Center, Rupp Arena, the convention center and Lexington Opera House.
Ellison and others spoke Thursday at a short “topping out” ceremony to lay the top beam on the convention center expansion, which is roughly halfway completed.
Central Bank Center staff estimate about 300 people are working on the site daily.
“I would like to recognize and applaud the efforts of the hundreds of skilled men and women in reaching this important milestone of completing the uppermost structure of this project, which has been years in planning and development,” said Bill Owen, Central Bank Center president and CEO. “They’ve worked tirelessly to complete difficult tasks, sometimes under challenging conditions. The facilities of Lexington Center, now Central Bank Center, have served the entire region and state for 44 years.”
The groundbreaking for the construction was in late 2018. But a series of delays meant the completion date for the project was pushed back several times. Coronavirus-related shutdowns helped construction crews make up some of that lost time.
“The only silver living in the COVID-19 environment is it permitted our construction to be expedited,” said Elliston.
When completed in January 2022, the new Central Bank Center will offer 100,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 25,000-square-foot ballroom, 25,000 square feet of meeting space and 50,000 square feet of hospitality space.
The future of that expansion was in question earlier this year after the Lexington Center Corp. ran into financial trouble.
Every event in the convention center, Rupp Arena and Lexington Opera House either canceled or postponed because of COVID-19. Hotel and motel taxes, used to pay loans for the renovation and expansion, have plummeted. In June, the center announced that it would permanently lay off 53 staffers on July 30. It had previously furloughed all but eight of its more than 120 staff members.
The cash-strapped Lexington Center also couldn’t make payments on two loans — totaling $218 million — used to pay for the renovation.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council approved $34 million in new borrowing in July, allowing Lexington Center to make debt payments. The city has backed the loans, meaning city taxpayers are on the hook for $1.6 million in interest payments if Lexington Center can’t make those payments in coming years.
The refinancing plan approved by the city will give the center three years to rebuild its business and improve its finances.
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said during Thursday’s ceremony that she is confident that Lexington Center will overcome its financial challenges.
“I’m confident that our city is going to move past the pandemic and Central Bank Center is going to come back to life, attracting even more visitors, generating even more economic activity, signaling even more investment in our downtown, and most importantly, creating jobs for our citizens,” Gorton said.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 3:08 PM.
