Kentucky Exposition Center unveils nearly $400M renovation to Louisville site. What to know

A nearly $400 million plan to renovate the Kentucky Exposition Center was unveiled Thursday, including two new buildings at the Louisville venue.

Venue leaders say the expansion increases the venue’s “Class A” space by more than 70%, allowing the exposition center to host bigger and more diverse events in addition to its current lineup.

Renovations will kick off next year and, between two phases, will cost $393 million, according to Kentucky Venues , which is governed by the Kentucky State Fair Board.

The public agency operates both the exposition center at 937 Phillips Lane, as well as the Kentucky International Convention Center at 221 S. Fourth St. in downtown Louisville.

“Through the generous support of the Kentucky General Assembly, we now have the opportunity to implement our collective vision of enhancing our facilities so we can continue doing what we do best, and that’s attracting, producing, hosting, and growing global events here in Louisville, Kentucky,” said David Beck, president and CEO of Kentucky Venues.

Following a pitch by Kentucky Venues that detailed a three-phase, redevelopment master plan with an estimated $710 million price tag, the Kentucky General Assembly allocated an initial $200 million to the renovation project in 2022.

That initial funding was released to Kentucky Venues last year, enabling the first phase of the project.

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, at a Thursday news conference, said that while the venue is in Louisville, it belongs to the entire state and needs to be a "shining star of a center."

"When you think about a 120 county impact and agriculture, for (Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives) David Osborne and I, and the members of the General Assembly, not to think highly about funding this project, renovating it and bringing it to a state-of-art type of facility to compete nationally and internationally, to bring people here in the state, out of the state, it was fairly easy to sell the General Assembly," Stivers said.

Ian Cox, a Kentucky Venues spokesman, noted more than $200 million in additional renovation dollars has been allocated, though that funding has yet to be released to the fair board. It is contingent upon final approval by the General Assembly, following an additional fair board presentation later this year to the legislature detailing the return on investment.

Here’s what the renovations entail:

Phase I : At a projected cost of $180 million, a new, interconnected 350,000-square-foot building will be able to host events ranging from livestock and equine competitions to trade shows to sporting events.

David Wallace, vice-chair of the Kentucky State Fair Board and chair of the committee that is working on the renovation, said the exposition center was entering a "new era" with the capital improvements.

"Everything we're doing, the primary purpose is Kentucky agriculture," he said. "This new facility, we're building it for cattle and livestock and hogs and pigs and horses, and we'll be able to put in 1,700 cattle ties into that one building. We're going to be able to put 24 NCAA basketball courts in it. You'll be able to put 40 volleyball courts in it."

The new building — roughly the size of six football fields — will be situated directly east of Broadbent Arena and north of the West Wing in an existing parking lot.

The new construction building will include the exposition center’s biggest Class A exhibit hall as well as meeting rooms and offices.

Cox declined to provide a more specific construction starting point in 2025 but noted the selection of a construction manager will soon get underway.

Phase II : The $213 million phase includes the redevelopment of the exposition center’s West Wing, West Hall, and Pavilion into a single, connected 249,000-square-foot multi-purpose building. This new construction building will include exhibit space, pre-function space that connects to Freedom Hall, and new meeting rooms.

Up to $40 million in upgrades to existing food and beverage operations and 40,000 new square feet of food-focused space at the exposition center's South Wing will also be part of this phase.

Cox said there's no specific timeline for the demolition of the existing West Wing, though he said it would follow the first phase.

Along with the first two phases, the venue is also planning $76 million toward improved infrastructure, signage, and backup power, among other physical improvements.

A third phase remains in the planning stages and is years off, Beck told The Courier Journal.

"We want to take time to evaluate," he said. "Is it better to renovate Broadbent (Arena), or is it better to replace Broadbent? It's too early to make those decisions. We're looking at that."

Kentucky Exposition Center to remain open during construction

The Kentucky Exposition Center was built starting in 1950 and opened in 1956. Today, it’s the sixth-largest convention center in the country.

The center, where the 2024 Kentucky State Fair is currently in its final days, also hosts the National Farm Machinery Show , the North American International Livestock Exposition , and many trade shows

Wallace noted that, between the two phases, the exposition center would gain about 400,000 square feet, putting the facility at about 2 million climate-controlled square feet.

"One of the big challenges we have here is we're not going to stop working," he said. "We are not shutting down. All the events that are here throughout the year ... they're all going to continue to happen."

Reach growth and development reporter Matthew Glowicki at mglowicki@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4000.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Exposition Center unveils nearly $400M renovation to Louisville site. What to know