Rupp Arena

The home of the 8-time National Championship University of Kentucky men’s basketball team, Rupp Arena’s vision to be “freed” from the connecting structures will allow this historic venue to shine as the crown jewel of College Basketball. The $310 million dollar renovation of Rupp Arena and associated replacement of the Lexington Convention Center is the single largest capital public improvement project in Lexington’s history and the largest economic development project in the State.

CMTA designed the Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing systems including a new Central Utility Plant that supports the operation of the arena, convention center, and hotel across the campus. With staged air-cooled chillers and secondary pumping zones, the design allows the campus to meet a variable load based demand. Also included are new Club venues that offer hospitality options to the fan base. Rupp arena will offer a new dramatic, light filled expanded concourse and new improved individual seat-back seating in the Upper Bowl. 

The new Lexington Convention Center will have more than 200,000 square feet of usable space including over 100,000 square feet of exhibition space, over 25,000 of ballroom space, and over 25,000 of new meeting space to allow Lexington to continuously attract the best conventions to the city. The project is targeted to be LEED certified.