If IMG moves ahead with a new Lexington arena for the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team, it most likely will not carry the Rupp Arena moniker.
It seems almost a heresy to say this, but if IMG moves ahead with a new Lexington arena for the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team, it most likely will not carry the Rupp Arena moniker.
Indeed, the Rupp Arena name — an honor for former coach Adolph Rupp — is virtually synonymous with Wildcat basketball. But the reality of arena financing virtually requires IMG to sell naming rights to the new arena. And there’s virtually no chance the Rupp Arena name will move to the new facility.
The current plan is for a Rupp Arena replacement directly across from the current arena, on the current High Street parking lot. The current Rupp Arena would be remodeled into convention-center space. The new arena could seat between 20,000 and 30,000 people and feature all the big-buck amenities — private club, flashy signage, suites — that big donors to the program expect.
