A new UK basketball practice facility? Mitch Barnhart explains why now’s the time
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK trustees approved predesign phase for new basketball practice facility plan.
- Project may integrate sports medicine, research and fan district near Kroger Field.
- Barnhart cites need for funding clarity; timeline depends on design and scope.
The first procedural step toward building a new basketball practice facility on the University of Kentucky campus was cleared Tuesday morning.
During a board meeting of Champions Blue, the nonprofit LLC recently created to oversee the school’s athletics department, UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart requested a resolution to initiate the predesign phase of a project that could ultimately result in a new basketball practice facility for the Wildcats.
Barnhart’s resolution was approved, with no dissenting votes or further discussion, by the Champions Blue board of governors, which includes UK President Eli Capilouto.
The proposed project could also feature a sports medicine component, with the possibility for a new UK HealthCare Sports Medicine ambulatory space, sports-related research space and other related areas.
The UK Board or Trustees athletics committee will consider moving the project forward at its Thursday meeting.
The possibility of a new practice facility for the men’s basketball team has been a hot topic in UK athletics circles for years. The discussion was amplified in the summer of 2022 by John Calipari, who publicly lobbied on multiple occasions for the university to invest in such a project.
Calipari left UK for Arkansas following the 2023-24 season. Mark Pope is entering his second season as the Wildcats’ head coach.
Barnhart said Tuesday that the timing of the proposed project was directly related to another major campus development that UK officials are exploring: the proposed fan entertainment district near Kroger Field that was approved for further study during a UK BOT meeting in June.
“The reason that we’re in conversation is because we’re talking about an incredible multi-use district that gives us a chance to anchor a variety of thoughts and processes into one concept,” Barnhart told the Herald-Leader after Tuesday’s Champions Blue meeting. “I don’t know that this happens singularly, if we do it by itself — or if we do anything by itself. But to have an opportunity to wrap things around it and create an energy about it ... is a wonderful thing to think about.
“And so we’re going to go see what the possibilities are. People are going to bring us concepts as it relates to all of those pieces. And I want to put them all together.”
The proposed fan entertainment district is also in the early conceptual stages, and it could ultimately include retail, dining, hotels and other entertainment options around Kroger Field.
If the Board of Trustees approves the recommendation related to the basketball practice facility and sports medicine space at Thursday’s meeting, UK officials will be able move forward with the predesign phase for that project.
The predesign phase itself is expected to cost around $1 million, and Barnhart said that process would likely take four to six months once it begins.
There is no approximate price tag for the development itself. Like with the proposed fan entertainment district, the estimated cost of the project won’t be known until the predesign phase is completed.
Barnhart also said there have been no decisions made on where the funding for the newer proposed project might come from, including whether it could be a joint financial effort between athletics and UK HealthCare, which would have a major presence in the space.
“I’m hoping that the landscape is broad, and we can think about a variety of ways to fund something of that scale,” he said.
There’s also no specific location set aside for the multi-use facility, other than a clear desire to have it be part of the proposed fan entertainment district in the area around Kroger Field.
Barnhart noted several cities with professional sports teams and similar areas centered around stadiums and arenas, featuring retail, dining, hotels and other entertainment entities. He specifically mentioned Milwaukee and Indianapolis — the two cities in which UK played during the 2025 NCAA Tournament — as examples of such arena districts.
The Emory Sports Medicine Complex in Atlanta — a 90,000-square-foot facility that opened in 2017 with a reported cost of $50 million — has been mentioned as a possible comparison. That space also features a sports and medicine component. It’s the primary practice and training facility for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and the home of Emory’s Sports Medicine program and Sports Science and Research division.
Barnhart said he had not yet toured that facility.
“That might be one to go and have a chance to look at,” he said.
A new UK basketball facility?
The Kentucky men’s and women’s basketball teams currently practice in the Joe Craft Center, which opened during the 2006-07 season at a cost of $30 million.
The Craft Center is attached to Memorial Coliseum — which opened in 1950 but recently underwent an $85 million renovation — and the facility features separate practice gyms, locker rooms, video rooms and lounges for both basketball teams.
There’s also a weight room, coaches offices for both basketball teams, and offices for other athletics department officials, including Barnhart.
The UK AD said he’s had discussions with all of his coaches who could be affected by the construction of a new facility — including volleyball coach Craig Skinner and gymnastics coach Tim Garrison, whose teams both compete in Memorial Coliseum — adding later that he has “lots of ideas” regarding how the Craft Center could be utilized moving forward in the event this multi-use facility does come to fruition.
“I want them all involved,” he said of his coaches and that planning for the future.
While Barnhart stressed the importance of viewing this as a multi-use facility that extends far beyond the men’s basketball team, he acknowledged Pope’s place in the conversation.
The Kentucky coach has also played an active role in the early stages of this process.
“Obviously Mark has got a unique situation, being at a program that the expectations are sometimes a little different from others,” Barnhart said. “So we’ve got to make sure that we’re thoughtful. Include people in the conversation. He’s got thoughts about what he envisions, which is awesome. I love those. We want to bring all those things to the table and see what happens.
“And if they come back and they say the price tag is this up here, ‘Whoa, hold on. We might need to refigure.’ Or maybe it’s manageable, and in a space where we can do a variety of really cool things — that’s the goal.”
Barnhart conceded that there are more questions than answers at this stage.
“Nothing’s done yet. We’re not sure whether it’s going to even be affordable for us to do this,” he said. “So lots of things to think about, but we’re working our way through it, and we think that it’s exciting.
“And I’m hopeful — in about four to six months — we get some really quality information to be able to make some decisions. And see if we can go forward. And then, clearly, you got to be able to fund it. Can you fund it? Can you make it work financially? And so those are all major questions that are yet to be answered.”
With the era of revenue sharing now upon college athletics — schools are now permitted to pay their athletes up to a total of $20.5 million this year, with that number rising in future seasons — Barnhart said part of the decision-making process regarding this project would include whether or not it could “create ongoing revenue for us” as an athletics department.
How long might it take for a new basketball practice facility to open if the predesign phase gets the final green light, the results of that study come up with a plan UK officials approve of and funding can be found to actually make it happen?
“No stinkin’ idea,” Barnhart acknowledged. “We’ve done building projects before. So my gut says you’re probably a year in design and a year to a year and a half, probably, in construction, depending on what it is. The scope being what it is — if it’s as big as we think it can be — it could take a while.
“I have a unique enjoyment of watching things come out of the ground. It’s pretty cool. And so I’d like it not to take five years. … But I think if we’re efficient and we’ve got some really cool concepts, I think we’ve got some really, really high-level people that are going to be interested in helping us get there. I think pace of play, we can move it along.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM.
