By Brian Ray

In only 607 days, the University of Louisville men’s and women’s basketball teams will have a new address on Main Street, Second Street, Third Street and River Road.  Early November 2010 is the scheduled completion date for the new downtown arena the Cardinals will call home.
According to Kenny Klein, Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations/SID, the Cardinal fan base is excited for the new arena.
“The arena will be a state-of-the-art venue that will be equipped to provide a terrific fan experience,” Klein said. “Aside from being a sparkling home for our men’s and women’s basketball teams, it will open up opportunities for many additional events.”
Brad Wagner, a junior marketing major likes the idea of having a new arena, but doesn’t like leaving Freedom Hall.
“I think the new arena will bring a lot of excitement to town, but it will be weird thinking of any place other than Freedom Hall as being home to the Cards,” Wagner said.
The new arena will have seating for 22,000, which is 3,135 more seats than Freedom Hall.  There will be 11,000 seats in the lower bowl of the arena and 11,000 seats in the upper bowl. The upper level will be higher than Freedom Hall, but will be located closer to the court. Also, the actual seats will be wider than the ones in Freedom Hall.
Available tickets for students will remain 2,300 in the new arena and should only cost a couple of dollars more for students. This is the same number of student seats available in Freedom Hall and will be located behind the goal on the visitor side of the court said Zach Brooks, assistant marketing and development coordinator.
“It was a special request from coach that the student section be on the visiting teams’ side of the court,” Brooks said.  “The biggest plus about the new student section is that there is no tunnel to separate it like there is in Freedom Hall. Hopefully this should make [the student section] look like a more unified student body. Another advantage is that we will not have to schedule around events for our games, the men’s and women’s basketball programs have first priority.”
In the student section, there will also be 12 handicapped seats with companion seats available in the lower student level, and the same number in the upper level.  There will be a grand total of 200 handicapped accessible seats and companion seats in the new arena.  Rupp Arena in Lexington offers 63 handicapped accessible and companion seats.
“I’m really neutral on the whole arena,” said Kristin Heath, a junior management major. “But if it brings economic prosperity to our city, then that’s great, as long as I don’t pay for it as a student through tuition hikes. My only concern is the congestion around the arena, but hopefully the design will be efficient in addressing this.”
The new downtown arena will be owned by the Louisville Arena Authority and managed by the Kentucky State Fair Board.
“The university is not paying for the arena,” said Brooks. “The arena is being financed by the state. The state’s view on the arena is what it will bring to the city.
According to the Louisville Arena Authority’s Web page, the arena will cost $238 million and is being is funded by approximately $349 million in gross proceeds from bonds issued by the Louisville Arena Authority.
“I don’t understand why they would spend such a large amount of money on a new arena when we are in the midst of such an economic unstable time,” said Jimmy Kaufman a junior finance major.
With this new arena we will have opportunities for many additional events Klein said.
“We have already been fortunate enough to attract the 2012 NCAA Women’s Volleyball National Championship, and the arena was built with the specifications to serve as the site for many other regional and national sporting events,” explained Klein. “This certainly provides attention to our university and city, but also provides a significant economic impact.”
There will be five garages in a three block radius of the arena to aid with parking. Interstates will help alleviate traffic issues.