FAIR SEEKS TO RAZE RETIRED LOUISVILLE STADIUM
December 3, 2009
Copyright 2009 MediaVentures
Louisville, Ky. - The Kentucky State Fair Board is asking for $46 million from the state to tear
down the 53-year-old Cardinal Stadium and replace it with an amphitheater for outdoor concerts at
the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.
At a time when the state budget is tighter than ever, 2010 will be the third straight year that the
Fair Board has asked the state to fund the project.
The proposal calls for demolishing the stadium, which opened along with Freedom Hall and
the exposition center in 1956 and is now used almost exclusively for outdoor concerts during the
Kentucky State Fair.
In its place, the fair board would build a two-level amphitheater with as many as 6,000 seats
under roof and seating for 6,000 more on a grassy berm. The lower level would have about 100 VIP
parking spaces, concession area and 70,000 square feet of warehouse and office space. The upper
level would include seating, the stage and a backstage area with more offices and a VIP suite.
A small second structure would be built to store the Freedom Hall basketball courts and
perhaps to house electrical and plumbing shops to replace comparable facilities now located in the
old stadium.
If funded, demolition of the stadium would have to be completed right after the 2010 State Fair
in August, with the new amphitheater open and ready for the 2011 State Fair. The renovation
would allow for the addition of about 500 parking spaces.
