Interview with Rick Ekhoff
WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH RUPP?
Everyone in Lexington and around the region has spent time in Rupp Arena.
Everyone in Lexington and around the region has spent time in Rupp Arena.
WHAT WAS THE CENTRAL CHALLENGE?
We needed to preserve the iconic character of Rupp Arena, but upgrade it across the board. The original building doesn’t have the capacity for its activities, it doesn’t provide adequate space or facilities for the kinds of events they want to host. For example, it doesn’t meet the standards for NCAA tournaments.
This is a huge opportunity for Lexington to take a step forward as a city. It’s a game changer.
“This is a huge opportunity for Lexington to take a step forward as a city.”
WHAT PART OF THE PROJECT EXCITES YOU MOST?
The catwalk over the plaza connects the convention center with the arena. This gives Lexington a multi-functional civic space that will transform the character of downtown. It extends the energy of the arena and convention center into the downtown area and really electrifies the city. We also implemented transparency into the overall design to amplify that even further.
The catwalk over the plaza connects the convention center with the arena. This gives Lexington a multi-functional civic space that will transform the character of downtown. It extends the energy of the arena and convention center into the downtown area and really electrifies the city. We also implemented transparency into the overall design to amplify that even further.
“It extends the energy of the arena and convention center into the downtown area.”
