KFC Yum! Center

Early arena planning focused on two potential arena sites: one owned by the Louisville Water Company bounded by Liberty Street, Muhammad Ali Blvd, 2nd and 3rd Streets, and one owned by Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E) on the waterfront between 2nd and 3rd Streets on Main. In March 2006, University of Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino stated he would not coach in an arena built at the water company site. This came at a time when the House budget committee earmarked funding for the arena only if it was built at the water company site. Others, including Papa John's Pizza founder John Schnatter, a major donor to the U of L athletic program, criticized the LG&E location due to its higher cost. On March 3, 2006, Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher, flanked by Louisville mayor Jerry Abramson, announced at a rally in Frankfort his strong preference for locating the new arena at the LG&E site along the Louisville riverfront as it was "undoubtedly the best site for economic development" and would give the state a good return on its investment. Kentucky senate president David L. Williams pledged to remove the site preference from the budget proposal. Other recommendations included the avoidance of large, blank walls, the inclusion of public art, and the provision of year-round uses inside the building. On May 21, 2007, the Louisville Arena Authority voted unanimously to remove a hotel from the arena project. and would sell the products of three of its chains—KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell—in seven concession stands within the arena. Recent developments In 2025, the KFC Yum! Center marked its 15th anniversary with a series of community events and commemorations highlighting the arena's role in downtown Louisville's revitalization. Since its opening in 2010, the venue has hosted nearly 2,000 events and welcomed more than 13 million guests, generating an estimated $1.4 billion in economic impact for Louisville. The Louisville Arena Authority (LLA) began a major roof replacement project in August 2025, covering approximately 250,000 square feet at a cost of about $13.6 million. The new roof is expected to be completed by December 2025. The arena remains operational during new renovations, with no interruptions to any prescheduled concerts or events. The Louisville Arena Authority also announced that more than $100 million renovation plans are expected to be implemented in the next 15 years to enhance the guest experience and make the venue top-notch for hosting sport and entertainment events. ==Features==

The arena's features include an integrated scoring and video display system, which includes large LED video displays within the seating bowl, with the display and control system provided by Daktronics. ==Financing==

, with Clark Memorial Bridge to the left As a result of the subtracted hotel and the revised projected revenues, the arena, which would have lost $123,000 a year originally, might turn a small profit. The proposal, required the arena officials to exhaust other revenue sources, such as naming rights and luxury suite sales, before asking the metro government to pay more than its minimum pledge. The minimum pledge was $206 million towards the construction of the arena in annual installments between 2010 and 2039. Under the deal, the Louisville Arena Authority can ask the local government for up to $3.5 million more a year to cover the debt only if at least five other sources are drained. If the Louisville Arena Authority would have to use additional city funds for two straight years, the Louisville Metro Council has the right to audit the arena's revenues. The financing agreement allowed $339 million in bonds through the state of Kentucky's Economic Development Finance Authority to be issued to construct the $252 million arena. The total debt on the bonds, $573 million over 30 years, will be paid through several sources. These include the city's $206 million commitment, $265 million from a tax-increment financing district, $179 million from advertising rights inside the arena, $63 million from luxury box sales, and at least $37 million in arena naming rights. The tax-increment financing district will allow part of the anticipated growth in state taxes to help pay for the arena. The arena's share of that revenue is capped at $265 million, although the project will be able to use the excess revenues to pay down the debt. It is expected to generate $574 million over 20 years. In September 2008, financing was completed for the new waterfront arena. ==Construction==

On May 3, 2007, construction began on a new electrical substation for Downtown Louisville. The previous substation, located on the block of River Road, Main, 2nd and 3rd Streets, was relocated across the street at 3rd and River Road. The new substation, projected to cost $63 million, was completed in October 2008, at which time the land that housed the old substation was transferred to the Louisville Arena Authority for construction of the new arena. Work started on the new arena in November 2008. The complex was officially completed on October 10, 2010. In June 2010, Gov. Steve Beshear and Mayor Jerry Abramson announced a new $3 million streetscape improvement project directly underneath the Clark Memorial Bridge, a three-block area from Main Street to River Road, which will be transformed into a plaza. This includes a new decorative lighting system under the refurbished Clark Memorial Bridge, wide sidewalks, seats, new pedestrian and festival areas, and extensive plantings, making this an inviting promenade for the new KFC YUM! Center. The project will be completed in time for the October 2010 opening of the arena. In 2010, the glassed-in skywalk system, called Louie Link, was extended across 3rd Street from the new $16 million Skywalk Garage, an eight-level, 860-space parking facility on 3rd Street, to the new KFC Yum! Center. ==Controversy==

The Task Force meetings were not without controversy. At first, task force member and University of Louisville athletics director Tom Jurich, along with University of Louisville president James Ramsey and Task Force member John Schnatter (founder of Papa John's Pizza), were ardently opposed to a downtown site and supported instead a campus arena, or a new arena built near Freedom Hall at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Jurich and Ramsey would later support the waterfront site. Schnatter, joined by fellow task force member and Humana co-founder David Jones, strongly supported a new arena at the water company site, located four blocks down 2nd Street, or the Exposition Center, which was the cheapest option. They paid over $200,000 for a study that showed the water company site would be much less expensive than the riverfront site. However, the two dropped their lobbying effort after it did not seem to change the minds of the rest of the task force. ==Other sports==

NBA Mixed martial arts The arena held Kentucky's first UFC event on March 3, 2011, for UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann. The UFC returned to the arena on June 8, 2024, for UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Imavov. ==See also==