LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For a pretty good while, former University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari argued his program needed a new practice facility, something more modern, more eye-catching for recruits.
Then the landscape changed. Name, Image and Likeness came in, facilities, tradition and everything else took a back seat. Calipari left town, Memorial Coliseum, part of UK's practice facility in the Craft Center, got an $82 million facelift, and the talk seemed to die down.
On Tuesday, it fired back up. UK is exploring a men's basketball practice facility, somewhere on campus, to be developed in conjunction with a sports medicine venture by UK HealthCare. All of that is part of a larger "Sports Adjacent District" that would include shops and restaurants and various amenities.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford
The whole thing is still in its fact-finding stage. School officials aren't even sure of a site, or the cost.
When UK Athletics — now operating through the nonprofit Champions Blue LLC — borrowed millions from the university earlier this summer, part of the rationale was to meet new revenue-sharing expenses with players, and part was to embark on capital projects that would help to generate revenue for the department.
Nothing generates revenue like health care. So, let's hope the leaders on this project know what they're doing.
UK already has one of the nation's top practice facilities. But in today's athletics landscape, perception often outruns need. If you walked through the Craft Center, your thought would likely be mine — what more could they need?
UK says moving men's basketball would open up the Craft Center to become a center for women's sports — in addition to basketball, which already has a top-notch practice facility, it could accommodate UK's nationally volleyball program and its STUNT program, both of which already compete in Memorial Coliseum.
So it all sounds fine. But the unrealistic sportswriter in me has this question.
If you're going to spend a ton of money on a development, why not spend it on an arena? If you want something that generates revenue and pays for itself, why not just explore building an arena on campus — then putting your "Sports Adjacent District" beside that. Because that can definitely make money.
Build a 16,000-seat arena that sets a world record for suites, lounge areas and other amenities right on campus. Build your health care structure within that.
Then keep all the money for yourself.
There are, maybe, a handful of basketball programs that can make money on a par with football programs in terms of revenue. Kentucky is one of them. People will pay for those suites. Let Rupp have the concerts and other shows it has all year and even agree to play a couple of games a year in there.
I don't know. It just seems like an actual arena is a lot more likely to generate game-changing revenue than a practice facility.
Pipe dream? Probably. But campus arenas often collide with city interests — just ask Louisville. It wanted an arena closer to campus, but the city wasn't going to let it happen. The city wanted a downtown arena. Louisville got a sweetheart deal to move its games down there, then the leadership that insisted on that deal was ousted, and the sweetheart deal went away.
Now? Louisville athletics would like to have that deal back again. Honestly, it needs to have that deal again for competitive reasons. But there's no going back.
I suspect things would go no differently for UK. The city needs a vibrant Rupp Arena, and it needs UK to play there.
UK, however, might need something different. For big basketball schools like the ones we have here, the opportunity to keep all that game revenue might look pretty good as the cost of fielding these teams goes up and up.
Just a thought.
Quick sips
- Louisville volleyball, ranked No. 4 nationally, has its biggest test of the season tonight when it visits No. 2 Texas in the Showdown at the Net. It's technically a neutral-site game, but will be played in Fort Worth, Texas. Louisville was leapfrogged in the most recent poll by a familiar face – Kentucky – which won on the road at defending national champion Penn State. The No. 3 Wildcats will play in the same event tonight against No. 7 Pittsburgh at 4 p.m. Louisville and Texas will follow at 7. Both matches will be on ESPN.
- Louisville's men's soccer team has done something unusual. It went from unranked to No. 6 in the coaches' poll after an upset of then-No. 1 Stanford. The Cardinals not only are 5-0 but are unscored upon after a 1-0 victory at Ohio State on Tuesday night.
The Last Drop
"We're looking forward to creating spaces that reflect the excellence and ambition of the University of Kentucky. This facility has the potential to elevate all our programs while also expanding our reach in sports medicine and research. This project provides a distinctive opportunity to build something that reflects the best of what UK does. Over the past 24 years, UK Athletics has invested over $768 million in capital projects. Exploring these future projects shows our commitment to continuing to build for the future."
UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart, in a statement introducing a push for a new men's basketball practice facility
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