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Location | 937 Phillips Lane, Louisville, Kentucky |
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Owner | Kentucky State Fair Board |
Operator | Kentucky State Fair Board |
Capacity | 18,865 (basketball) 19,200 (concerts) |
Construction | |
Opened | 1956 |
Expanded | 1984 |
Tenants | |
Louisville Cardinals men's basketball (NCAA) (1956–2010) Louisville Rebels (IHL) (1957–1960) Kentucky Colonels (ABA) (1970–1976) Louisville Cardinals women's basketball (NCAA) (1975–2010) Louisville Panthers (AHL) (1999–2001) Louisville Fire (af2) (2001–2008) Kentucky Stickhorses (NALL) (2012–2013) Kentucky Xtreme (CIFL) (2013–2014) Bellarmine Knights men's basketball (NCAA) (2020–present) Bellarmine Knights women's basketball (NCAA) (2020–present) | |
Website | |
kyfairexpo |
Freedom Hall is a multi-purpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is best known for its use as a basketball arena, previously serving as the home of the University of Louisville Cardinals and, since November 2020, as the home of the Bellarmine University Knights. [1] It has hosted Kiss, Grateful Dead, Chicago, AC/DC, WWE events, Mötley Crüe, Elvis Presley, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Creed, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Coldplay and many more. As well as the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team from 1956 to 2010, the arena's tenants included the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association from 1970 until the ABA-NBA merger in June 1976, and the Louisville Cardinals women's team from its inception in 1975 to 2010. [2] The Kentucky Stickhorses of the North American Lacrosse League used Freedom Hall from 2011 until the team folded in 2013. From 2015 to 2019 it has hosted the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship Finals yearly in mid-April.
The arena lost its status as Kentuckiana's main indoor sporting and concert venue when the downtown KFC Yum! Center opened in 2010. It is still used regularly, however, hosting concerts, horse shows, conventions, and basketball games.
Freedom Hall was completed in 1956 in the newly opened Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center located 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Downtown Louisville. [3] It received its name as the result of a statewide essay contest sponsored by the State Fair Board and the American Legion. Charlotte Owens, a senior at DuPont Manual High School, submitted the winning entry over 6,500 others. [4] Designed for the nation's premier equestrian competition, the Kentucky State Fair World's Championship Horse Show, the floor length and permanent seating were designed specifically for the almost 300-foot (91 m)-long show ring (in comparison, a regulation hockey rink is 200 feet (61 m) long, and a basketball court is only 94 feet). The North American International Livestock Exposition also is held there each November. Muhammad Ali fought his first professional fight at Freedom Hall when he won a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker.[ citation needed ] Freedom Hall was also one of the major stops on the Motortown (later MOTOWN) traveling music revue during the early and mid-1960s.
Grateful Dead played Freedom Hall 4 times including 6/18/74, 4/9/89, 6/15/93, and 6/16/93. 6/18/74 was officially released as Road Trips Volume 2 Number 3.
Judgment Day (2000) was also held at the Freedom Hall. A collegiate wrestling tournament was held at the arena in 2019.
Freedom Hall has hosted campaign rallies for two U.S. presidents: John F. Kennedy and Donald Trump. [5] [6]
The Kentucky Colonels fielded successful teams during their tenure at Freedom Hall, winning the American Basketball Association (ABA) Championship in the 1974–75 season and reaching the ABA Finals two other times. [7] The 1970–71 team played in the ABA Championship Finals, losing to the Utah Stars in 7 games. The 1972–73 team advanced to the Finals again, losing to the Indiana Pacers in 7 games. The Colonels were disbanded when the ABA merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976. Hall of Fame players Louie Dampier, Dan Issel and Artis Gilmore played for the Colonels during their successful run. Hall of Fame Coach Hubie Brown coached the Colonels Championship team. [8]
In 1984 the facility was refurbished, including lowering the floor to allow maximum capacity to increase from 16,664 to 18,865 for basketball. [9] It was the full-time home of Cardinal men's basketball from the 1957–58 season to 2010, with the team winning 82% of home games in 50+ seasons. The University of Louisville was ranked in the Top 5 in attendance for the past 25 years, with 16 of the last 19 years averaging more than 100% of capacity.
In addition to being the home of the Cardinals, Freedom Hall has hosted NCAA tournament games ten times, including six Final Fours between 1958 and 1969. The arena has also hosted 11 conference tournaments, nine Metro Conference Tournaments and two Conference USA tournaments—2001 and 2003. It has also hosted the Kentucky Boys' High School State Basketball Tournament (also known as the Sweet 16) 23 times, including every year from 1965 to 1978. In 1984, the floor of the arena was lowered about 10 feet (3.0 m) to increase the capacity of the arena from 16,613 to its current figure. In the 1996–97 season Freedom Hall averaged an attendance of 19,590 surpassing arena capacity. Freedom Hall hosts the Championship tractor pull every February during the National Farm Machinery Show.
From 2001 to 2008, the arena football team Louisville Fire of the af2 played in Freedom Hall before ceasing operations.
On the lower level is the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame where an engraved bronze plaque honors each inductee. [10]
The University of Louisville men's basketball team played their final game at Freedom Hall in front of a record crowd of 20,138 on March 6, 2010, against Syracuse University, the #1 ranked team in the nation. Louisville won in an upset 78–68.
The arena began to gain new tenants in 2012 with the addition of the Kentucky Stickhorses, and in 2013, with the addition of the Kentucky Xtreme. [11] [12] However, the Kentucky Stickhorses folded in 2014 after the lack of wins and the lack of attendance. The Kentucky Xtreme were suspended mid-season with other teams playing the remainder of their season. In 2020, the Bellarmine University Knights selected Freedom Hall as their home for men's and women's basketball. [13]
UofL Men's Basketball Attendance by Year | |||
Year | Average Attendance | Games | Percent of capacity |
---|---|---|---|
1997/98 | 18,669 | 14 | 98.96% |
1998/99 | 19,055 | 14 | 101.0% |
1999/00 | 19,180 | 15 | 101.2% |
2000/01 | 17,457 | 16 | 92.53% |
2001/02 | 18,929 | 19 | 100.3% |
2002/03 | 19,037 | 18 | 101.0% |
2003/04 | 19,443 | 15 | 103.1% |
2004/05 | 18,746 | 17 | 99.36% |
2005/06 | 18,316 | 22 | 97.09% |
2006/07 | 18,488 | 20 | 98% |
2007/08 | 19,481 | 17 | 103.3% |
The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history, but the team did not join the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1976 ABA–NBA merger. The downtown Louisville Convention Center was the Colonels' venue for their first three seasons before moving to Freedom Hall for the remaining seasons, beginning with the 1970–71 schedule.
Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center, a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, which is located next to the Lexington Hyatt and Hilton hotels. Rupp Arena also serves as home court to the University of Kentucky men's basketball program, and is named after legendary former Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp with an official capacity of 20,500. In 2014 and 2015, in Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team was second in the nation in college basketball home attendance. Rupp Arena also regularly hosts concerts, conventions and shows.
The Louisville Cardinals are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Conference from 2005 through 2013, the Cardinals captured 17 regular season Big East titles and 33 Big East Tournament titles totaling 50 Big East Championships across all sports. On November 28, 2012, Louisville received and accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and became a participating member in all sports in 2014. In 2016, Lamar Jackson won the school its first Heisman Trophy.
Cardinal Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. It was on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, and was called Fairgrounds Stadium when it first opened for an NFL exhibition football game between the Baltimore Colts and Philadelphia Eagles on September 9, 1956. It was demolished in 2019.
Sports in Louisville, Kentucky include amateur and professional sports in baseball, football, basketball, horse racing, horse shows, ice hockey, soccer and lacrosse. The city of Louisville and the Louisville metropolitan area have a sporting history from the mid-19th century to the present day.
The Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC), is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Originally built in 1956. It is overseen by the Kentucky Venues and is the sixth largest facility of its type in the U.S., with 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2) of indoor space. KEC has two arenas, almost 700,000 sq. ft of Class A exhibit space, nearly 500 acres of outdoor planning space. A majority of the 1.3 million square feet is contiguous.
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 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 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.
The KFC Yum! Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is named after the KFC restaurant chain and Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC. Adjacent to the Ohio River waterfront, it is located on Main Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets and opened on October 10, 2010. The arena is part of a $450 million project that includes a 975-car parking structure and floodwall.
The U.S. State of Kentucky is currently home to two professional soccer teams: Louisville City FC, which plays in the USL Championship, and Racing Louisville FC, which plays in the NWSL. Kentucky has had professional sports teams in its past, such as the Louisville Brecks/Colonels of the NFL in the early 1920s.
The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing the University of Louisville in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have officially won two NCAA championships in 1980 and 1986 ; and have officially been to 8 Final Fours in 39 official NCAA tournament appearances while compiling 61 tournament wins.
The 1973–74 Kentucky Colonels season was their seventh in the American Basketball Association. The Colonels finished in second place in the ABA's Eastern Division. They met the Carolina Cougars in the Eastern Division Semifinals and swept them in 4 games. They met the eventual champion New York Nets in the Eastern Division Finals, where they lost. McCarthy was let go after this season.
The 1974–75 American Basketball Association season saw the Kentucky Colonels, led by Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Louie Dampier and coach Hubie Brown, win the 1975 ABA Championship.
Samuel Chestley Smith Sr. was an American professional basketball player who played four seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA). He played for the Minnesota Muskies, Kentucky Colonels, and Utah Stars from 1967 to 1971. Prior to turning professional, he was noted for being one of the first three African American basketball players at the University of Louisville. He later transferred to Kentucky Wesleyan College and helped the school win its first NCAA Division II championship in 1966.
The Kentucky Stickhorses were an American indoor lacrosse team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They were formerly a member of the North American Lacrosse League, before the league's demise after the 2013 season. The Stickhorses played their home games at Freedom Hall.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
The Bellarmine Knights men's basketball team represents Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The Knights compete in the ASUN Conference and are currently transitioning to NCAA Division I. The team competed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) from the conference's founding in 1972 through the 2019–20 season. They are currently led by head coach Scott Davenport and play their home games at Freedom Hall.
The National Basketball Association has undergone several rounds of expansion in the league's history, since it began play in 1946, to reach 30 teams. The most recent examples are the additions of the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in 1988; the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic in 1989; the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995 ; and the New Orleans Hornets in 2002. In July 2023, Commissioner Adam Silver stated that the NBA would explore a potential expansion of the league once they reach an agreement on a new media rights deal. Silver said in a February 2024 interview on The Pat McAfee Show that Las Vegas was an expansion team candidate.
Archibald William Hamilton is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head men's basketball coach at Eastern Kentucky University, a position he has held since 2018. Hamilton served as the head basketball coach at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia, from 2011 to 2017. Born in Georgetown, Kentucky, he played college basketball for Wake Forest and Marshall, where he graduated in 2005.
The 2022–23 Bellarmine Knights men's basketball team represented Bellarmine University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Knights, led by 18th-year head coach Scott Davenport, played their home games at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky as members of the ASUN Conference. The Knights finished the season 15–18, 9–9 ASUN play, to finish in a tie for seventh place. As the No. 8 seed in the ASUN tournament, they defeated North Florida before losing to Liberty in the quarterfinals.