KFC Yum! Center
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 KFC Yum! Center logo [top] and the convention center in 2011 as seen from Main Street in Downtown Louisville | |
| Address | 1 Arena Plaza |
|---|---|
| Location | Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 38°15′27″N 85°45′14″W |
| Owner | Louisville Arena Authority |
| Operator | Anschutz Entertainment Group / ASM Global |
| Capacity | Basketball: 22,090 Volleyball: 21,500 End stage: 17,500 Max: 22,090 |
| Surface | Multi-Surface Denny Crum Court |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | November 28, 2006 |
| Opened | October 10, 2010 |
| Construction cost | $238 Million |
| Architect | Populous (formerly HOK Sport) Louis and Henry Group C.L. Anderson Architecture Jill Lewis Smith Architects |
| Project manager | PC Sports |
| Structural engineer | Walter P Moore |
| Services engineer | Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. |
| General contractor | M. A. Mortenson Company |
| Tenants | |
| Louisville Cardinals (NCAA) Men's basketball (2010–present) Women's basketball (2010–present) Women's volleyball (2011–2017) Louisville Xtreme (IFL) (2021) | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Louisville Cardinals men's and women's basketball teams from the University of Louisville are the primary tenants of the arena complex. The U of L women's volleyball team began using the arena as a part-time home in 2011, and made the arena its main home in 2012. With 22,090 seats for basketball, it is the largest arena in the United States by seating capacity designed primarily for basketball, and the second-largest used for college basketball, behind the JMA Wireless Dome at Syracuse University, a venue built to house football and lacrosse in addition to basketball. The arena's current attendance record for a sporting event is 22,815, set March 9, 2013, against Notre Dame (men's basketball). The current attendance record for any event is 23,085, set March 9, 2019, when Metallica played their WorldWired Tour.
From April to May 2021, it was home to the Louisville Xtreme of the Indoor Football League, but they were voted out of the league after five games.