16-623: Louisville Gardens is a multi-purpose, 6,000-seat arena , in Louisville, Kentucky , that opened in 1905, as the Jefferson County Armory . It celebrated its 100th anniversary as former city mayor Jerry Abramson 's official "Family-Friendly New Years Eve" celebration location. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The facility has served the city of Louisville and Jefferson County in
32-536: A location, often with the specific intent of comparing an idea to a sporting event. Such examples of these would be terms such as "the arena of war", "the arena of love" or "the political arena". Kentucky International Convention Center The Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC), formerly called the Commonwealth Convention Center , is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky , United States . The KICC, along with
48-467: A variety of ways during the past century, from utilization as an actual armory to American Basketball Association 's Kentucky Colonels basketball games, to various wrestling events, concerts, political rallies, and the staging of Hurricane Katrina flood relief. Elvis Presley performed before a capacity crowd on November 25, 1956. In addition, the pop sensation band Jackson 5 —known as "The Jacksons" during this era—performed on October 7, 1979, as part of
64-476: Is also the sport of indoor American football (one variant of which is explicitly known as arena football), a variant of the outdoor game that is designed for the usual smaller playing surface of most arenas; variants of other traditionally outdoor sports, including box lacrosse as well as futsal and indoor soccer , also exist. The term "arena" is also used loosely to refer to any event or type of event which either literally or metaphorically takes place in such
80-429: Is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by a roof. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators. The word derives from Latin harena , a particularly fine-grained sand that covered the floor of ancient arenas such as
96-763: The American Basketball Association , played their home games at the facility, then known as the Louisville Convention Center , from 1967 through 1970. Louie Dampier was the team's best player in the era. On November 24, 1968, Penny Ann Early became the first female to appear in a men's professional league, playing briefly in a home game for the Colonels. The Louisville Catbirds , of the Continental Basketball Association (1983–1985),
112-628: The Colosseum in Rome , Italy, to absorb blood. The term arena is sometimes used as a synonym for a very large venue such as Pasadena's Rose Bowl , but such a facility is typically called a stadium . The use of one term over the other has mostly to do with the type of event. Football (be it association , rugby , gridiron , Australian rules , or Gaelic ) is typically played in a stadium, while basketball , volleyball , handball , and ice hockey are typically played in an arena, although many of
128-630: The Kentucky Exposition Center , hosts conventions for the Louisville area. It was built on the site of the Tyler Block and opened in 1977. The facility underwent a major renovation from 2016 to 2018, seeking more space and a more inviting presence. While the convention center does not have a permanent arena, it has hosted various sporting events, including the 2002 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament and
144-862: The Louisville Shooters , of the Global Basketball Association (1991–1992) and the Kentucky Colonels , of the ABA 2000 (2004–2006), all played their home basketball games at the Louisville Gardens. The University of Louisville women's basketball team used the Gardens for six home games in the 1997–98 season. Ice hockey teams to use the Gardens as home ice include the Louisville Blades and
160-754: The Louisville Shooting Stars . The building was also known as the Convention Center or Louisville Convention Center, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. It was renamed Louisville Gardens in 1975 when the Commonwealth Convention Center (now called Kentucky International Convention Center ) was being built. In 2007, the Cordish Company , manager of the nearby Fourth Street Live! entertainment complex, agreed to take over operation of "The Gardens" from
176-578: The Metro Louisville Government as part of a $ 250 million development in downtown Louisville . In 2012, Cordish was released from its obligations to the Gardens. In 2022, plans have been announced for the venue to be turned into a soundstage. [REDACTED] Media related to Louisville Gardens at Wikimedia Commons Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre , musical performances , and/or sporting events . It
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#1732783178567192-538: The NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament from 1995 to 2000. It also hosted select University of Louisville women's basketball games from the 1989–90 season through 1992–93, and again in the 1994–95, 2000–01, and 2008–09 seasons. One of the exhibit halls was temporarily turned into an arena, with seats for about 7,000. This article related to sports in Louisville, Kentucky is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about
208-536: The armory. The Kentucky Wildcats when led by Adolph Rupp played 72 games at the armory going 61-11 there from 1937 to 1956. Included in that was games played in the SEC men's basketball tournament which was held at the armory from 1941 to 1952. Additionally, the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament was held there from 1949 to 1955 and again from 1964 to 1967. The Kentucky Colonels , of
224-502: The band's 4th leg from their Destiny World Tour . More recently, WWE used the 3,000-person capacity arena as a training ground for future stars in a minor-league promotion known as Ohio Valley Wrestling , until the organization moved to the Davis Arena . WWE also staged two pay-per-view events while the venue was known as Louisville Gardens : ( In Your House 6 and In Your House 17: Ground Zero ). TNA Wrestling held an event at
240-588: The larger arenas hold more spectators than do the stadiums of smaller colleges or high schools. There are exceptions. The home of the Duke University men's and women's basketball teams would qualify as an arena, but the facility is called Cameron Indoor Stadium . Domed stadiums, which, like arenas, are enclosed but have the larger playing surfaces and seating capacities found in stadiums, are generally not referred to as arenas in North America. There
256-577: The venue in 2007. Freedom Hall replaced the small, aging facility in 1956, as a more popular venue for city events. Martin Luther King Jr. (Tuesday, August 23, 1960) and Harry Truman both spoke at the arena. Primary home of Louisville Cardinals men's basketball starting in 1945 when Bernard "Peck" Hickman was head coach until 1956 when they moved to Freedom Hall. They played occasional games there each season until their last on November 30, 1972. The Louisville Cardinals were 153-23 all time at
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