‘No plan B.’ Kentucky preparing to open renovated Memorial Coliseum in August
Four University of Kentucky women’s sports programs — women’s basketball, gymnastics, STUNT and volleyball — are on track to enjoy brand new, state-of-the-art facilities for the upcoming 2024-25 athletic season.
On Friday morning, UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart and UK Athletics hosted local media for a first look at the progress of the highly anticipated, $82 million renovation to historic Memorial Coliseum.
What was a completely gutted construction zone in Fall 2023 has transformed, and — though there’s still lots to do ahead of the start of UK’s volleyball season in August — Barnhart all but guaranteed its on-time completion. He admitted it’s been a long process, and said “these things are never easy,” but that he feels “comfortable that we’ll be ready to go … mid-August.”
The volleyball team, which played its home matches last season in Rupp Arena, is scheduled to host Dayton for an exhibition match Aug. 23 and play its home opener Aug. 30 vs. Northern Kentucky.
“No plan B,” Barnhart said. “We’ve got to be ready to go. I think that they’re on task and they’ve worked hard. I thank all the people, they’ve been here tirelessly working on it. And these things are difficult because you get into them and everything’s going along, and all of a sudden something happens and you’ve got to be sure to go right for a bit. Then you come back to the plan.”
The exterior of 74-year-old Memorial Coliseum, despite all the changes within the facility, will remain unchanged. According to Barnhart, it was important to UK Athletics that the “historical nature of this building,” remained as intact as possible.
“I think that the iconic nature of this building,” Barnhart said. “It is historic in its nature. Going back to the days of Adolph Rupp, beginning of his coaching in this building, and all the things that have happened in the history of basketball leading up to our move to Rupp Arena in men’s basketball.”
However, that doesn’t mean, that UK opted to preserve history in lieu of providing student-athletes and Big Blue Nation with the best product possible.
Improved fan experience
For the first time in history, Memorial Coliseum will have air conditioning.
“Welcome to not having to sweat when you come to Memorial Coliseum,” Barnhart said.
In addition to the HVAC, there’s also a new basketball floor and a complete reworking of the seating.
One half of the coliseum features new bench seating, with chairback seating on the other half. Only one side features chairbacks, according to Barnhart, because of limitations related to the construction of the building itself, though it was a consideration before the concept was deemed “not possible.”
The club end of the court, which has been erected in place of the wall that previously held the scoreboard, will feature a decorative backdrop using repurposed wood from the coliseum’s previous bench seating. The scoreboard itself is no more; a large, repositioned Jumbotron will hang from the ceiling above center court, and brand-new lighting and sound systems will be installed.
Memorial’s not-so-aesthetic, aged ceiling has been replaced with large, two-toned blue paneling. On either side of the stands, large-opening passages serve as the entry points to the concourses, which will feature renovated restrooms and concessions. Barnhart said the approach to concessions will also look different from their past iteration; in addition to typical concession stands, grab-and-go options (like those at Kroger Field) will be available for more convenient, quick service.
Fans are lining up to buy season tickets, as well. Barnhart noted that women’s basketball sales are ahead of last year at this stage in the summer. Eleven hundred people have paid deposits for women’s basketball season tickets, and “close to 1,600” people have put deposits down for “all of our women’s sports programs.”
When asked about complaints related to reticketing, Barnhart said any time you do construction, seats are lost and moved around. Though, he said, there’s no way to make 100% of people happy, he feels as though it’s been a fair process.
The reticketing process runs through the K Club and uses UK Athletics’ points program, and Barnhart said the department has “tried to honor people that have been with us for a long time in terms of season tickets, as well as people that put money into the scholarship fund to support our women’s programs.”
According to Barnhart, there’s not a bad seat in the house. And he understands why fans and season ticket holders want to ensure a great experience.
“Clearly there’s an excitement about being in here,” Barnhart said. “But there’s an excitement about our teams that do compete in here, they’re all very good. You’ve got two teams (gymnastics and volleyball) that finished the year last year in the top 15 in the country. Our STUNT team is obviously new to our program. Nationally they escalated up the ranks really, really well. And then (women’s basketball) coach (Kenny) Brooks and what he’s got in terms of recruiting and his history, what he’s brought to women’s basketball. I think people are excited to watch that brand of basketball in Memorial Coliseum.
A competitive edge
A notable change in the seating arrangement? There are substantially fewer seats post-renovation than in the past.
Memorial Coliseum’s capacity was reduced from 11,500 to 8,500 during a 1990 renovation. The new Memorial will include about 6,500 seats in order to create a more competitive environment while still being able to host postseason events and respecting the “NCAA minimum.” Barnhart said the project made a concerted effort to bring the fans closer to the court.
“In the old Memorial Coliseum, everything was a pretty good distance from the court,” Barnhart said. “There’s going to be seats on this (north side) that go right up to the edge of the court where our students will be. … They will come up on each side, and then that club (section) brings it in close. It is a very, very tight configuration. Competitively, it could be really, really good for us. So we’re very excited about what it has to offer for our fans and bringing them closer to the action.”
Barnhart joked that UK Athletics “did (the renovation) for him,” and earnestly added that the renovation is a big deal for women’s basketball, and that it’s important to have the facility as Brooks “is rebuilding the program.”
The new Memorial Coliseum is a selling point, not only for women’s basketball, but beyond. UK volleyball head coach Craig Skinner’s office sits above where the student section will be, and he’s had the opportunity to watch the renovation progress over many months. Barnhart said that all the coaches are excited about what’s to come.
Teams will benefit from new locker rooms and new spaces, and each program will host a “soft opening” at Memorial prior to the start of its individual season. A larger, “grand opening” will take place at some point during the spring.
“I think our coaches are just excited to be able to give our fans a better experience,” Barnhart said. “And hopefully that encourages people to come and be a part of what we think are four really dynamic, exciting teams that play in this facility.”
Room for versatility
Memorial Coliseum’s makeover also creates possibilities for different types of smaller events. Could that mean Memorial may play host to concerts going forward?
“That’s a possibility,” Barnhart said. “But there are other events on this campus that we would use it for. A lot of things. Student orientation, DanceBlue, all of those kinds of things are going to be things that the university is going to want to bring in here now that there’s HVAC and the ability to have some comfort in here, as well.
“Small college graduations might come over here and be a part of that, some alumni associations. So we’re thankful for the partnership that the university has given us.”
What Barnhart doubts will move to Memorial, however, is Big Blue Madness. Barnhart said tens of thousands of people have attended Big Blue Madness in a given year in Rupp Arena, and he feels strongly that the beloved event remains open to as many fans as possible.
“I don’t know that we want to take people out of that environment and limit the number of folks who can come,” Barnhart said. “But I think we’re gonna always look for special ways to bring our crowds in here and bring people into Memorial, so we’ll keep looking at that. But that’s an awful lot of folks to displace out of a Madness crowd. I’m not sure I want to take that opportunity away.”
This story was originally published July 12, 2024 at 3:54 PM.
