With Los Angeles-based architectural firm NBBJ as the principal designer, and EOP of Lexington in a collaborating role and Messer Construction as the contractor, the $310 million Central Bank Center expansion project recently debuted following more than a decade of planning and construction.
Although the multimillion-dollar expansion of the downtown Central Bank Center is only recently completed, officials say the project is already bringing a significant amount of new business to Lexington.
During a ribbon-cutting event held on April 21, which featured a brunch buffet and a champagne toast served in the new Rupp Arena lobby on the third level, speakers including Gov. Andy Beshear, Lexington Center Corporation board president Bill Elliston, and Mary Quinn Ramer, president of VisitLex, touted the expanded economic development opportunities the facility represents.
Elliston said the center has already booked a three-year contract for a National Beta Club convention beginning in 2023 — an event that will bring more than 7,000 people to the area each year.
“They would not have come to Lexington if we had not made this investment,” he said.
Ramer, president of VisitLex, said the center will generate an estimated additional 25,000 hotel room nights for the city and an additional $25 million in economic impact.
Spanning more than 11 years of planning and construction, the $310 million expansion project includes not only renovations to Rupp Arena but also 30,000 square feet of meeting rooms that can be configured in various ways, a more than 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 25,000 square-foot-ballroom and more than 50,000 square feet of hospitality dining areas.
Sean Airhart
An independent feasibility analysis from 2015 estimated an expanded convention center would generate an additional $19.6 million in direct spending and an additional total economic impact of $28.4 million annually over current estimates from that time.
Officials said the expansion will allow Lexington to compete for nearly 90 percent of the national convention business. Previously, the city could only compete for about 65 percent.
“This project is critical to the future of tourism in our community and an important economic development project,” Ramer said. “Lexington would have lost more than $13 million in economic impact as fewer and fewer conventions would have been able to use our old convention space, which was too small compared to competitor cities. In addition, private investment will follow the public’s investment in the convention center — spurring new hotel developments and other business investment in Lexington.”.
Elliston said the community is already seeing a return on its investment.
“The expanded Central Bank Center facility will sustain — even elevate — Central Kentucky as a meeting destination, keeping Lexington competitive in the regional and national convention marketplace as well as creating an iconic visitor destination in the heart of the Bluegrass,” he said.
“The economic benefits to our region will ensure returns on these investments for decades, and everyone in our community will benefit.”
Sean Airhart
Elliston said the Elton John concert held in early April was the highest-grossing event in the history of Rupp Arena — the third time an event has broken revenue records in the past five years, he said.
“We continue to break records, and it’s because of this venue and the collective investments made into it,” Elliston said.
Gov. Andy Beshear said the expansion would translate to $100 million in economic activity every year.
“The completely new Central Bank Center convention facility and renovated Rupp Arena represents nothing less than the single largest public sector investment in Central Kentucky history,” Beshear said. “And I believe this grand opening is truly a case of a major project meeting its time and moment in history. Its importance to Lexington, and really to the entire commonwealth, simply cannot be overstated.
“It’s going to amplify everything you see going on in this state,” he continued. “It’s an economic development magnet, a place where you can bring companies that are coming to Kentucky. A place where we can bring companies to regional, national and international conferences. When people come and see what Team Kentucky has to offer — whether they’re coming in for a conference, a ballgame, the bourbon trail, you pick it — they see something they really like, and so many of them are coming to be a part of it.”
And Rupp Arena will continue to be the home of the University of Kentucky Wildcat men’s basketball team through a continuing partnership with the university.
“The Central Bank Center is a spectacular reimagining of vital convention and arena space in the heart of downtown Lexington and our community,” said Tom Harris, University of Kentucky’s vice president for university relations and acting vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement. “It already has enhanced the fan experience at Rupp Arena. The attractive, modern, and spacious convention and meeting space will only further elevate our community’s ability to attract new visitors and old friends to downtown and our campus. It will add to an already vibrant quality of life in Lexington.”