The University of Kentucky has officially taken its first procedural step toward building a new basketball practice facility.
On Tuesday morning, Champions Blue, the nonprofit LLC created to oversee UK athletics, approved a resolution from athletics director Mitch Barnhart to begin the predesign phase of the project. The vote passed with no dissent and included support from UK President Eli Capilouto.
The proposed facility could house a new practice space for men’s basketball while also including a UK
HealthCare Sports Medicine ambulatory center, sports science research space, and other multi-use features.
Barnhart tied the project’s timing to UK’s broader vision for a fan entertainment district near Kroger Field, which could eventually include retail, dining, hotels, and entertainment options.
“The reason that we’re in conversation is because we’re talking about an incredible multi-use district,” Barnhart said. “I don’t know that this happens singularly, but to have an opportunity to wrap things around it and create an energy about it is a wonderful thing to think about.”
If approved by the UK Board of Trustees athletics committee during Thursday’s meeting, the predesign process will move forward at a cost of about $1 million. That phase, expected to last four to six months, will produce floor plans and renderings while also clarifying a price tag and funding model.
Kentucky currently practices in the Joe Craft Center, which opened in 2007. Barnhart stressed that the proposed project is still in early stages, saying there are “more questions than answers” but calling the opportunity “exciting.”
