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Council Discusses Future of Rupp Arena

By Stu Johnson

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- – The issue of replacement for Rupp Arena surfaced Tuesday during a Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council committee meeting. The discussion focused on the downtown master plan.

University of Kentucky officials have talked about the possibility of a new arena being built near the current facility. If that happens, council member Kevin Stinnett wonders what will happen with the old space.

"A new arena is fine, nice, and dandy but what do you do with the 50 million dollar building, that's gonna be paid off here very soon? You go to renovate it, then you've got other costs, and that's where the community will get hit with the expense," Stinnett said.

Council member Julian Beard says he was told recently that no city funds would be required to build a new arena and that it would likely carry a corporate name. UK officials have not announced a specific timeline to make any decision about a new sports facility.