By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
The University of Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum will have a mixture of history and modern convenience when the historic venue reopens in August.
The $82 million renovation to the facility that opened in 1950 and served as home of the men’s basketball team for 26 seasons, is set to host matches for the volleyball team, which opens the season Aug. 30. Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart said the facility is on track toward future completion.
“These things are never easy,” he said. “(But I am) comfortable that we’ll be ready to go (by) mid-August. No plan B. We’ve got to be ready to go. I think that they’re on task and they’ve worked hard. I thank all the people, they’ve been here tirelessly working on it. And these things are difficult because you get into them and everything’s going along, and all of a sudden something happens and you’ve got to be sure to (get it) right for a bit. Then you come back to the plan.”
The interior of the structure will feature a complete overhaul, while the exterior retains “the historical nature of this building.”
For the first time, air conditioning will be flowing inside the historic coliseum, complete with a new floor and updated seating options. The capacity has been reduced from 8,500 to 6,500 seats, but will bring the fans closer to the floor.
“Clearly there’s an excitement about being in here,” Barnhart said. “But there’s an excitement about our teams that do compete in here, they’re all very good.
“… in the old Memorial Coliseum, everything was a pretty good distance from the court. There’s going to be seats on this (north side) that go right up to the edge of the court where our students will be — they will come up on each side, and then that club (section) brings it in close.
“It is a very, very tight configuration. Competitively, it could be really, really good for us. So we’re very excited about what it has to offer for our fans and bringing them closer to the action.”