Plans Approved To Renovate Rupp Arena

{Lexington, Kentucky}...Lexington Mayor Jim Gray has announced the initial approval of plans to renovate Rupp Arena. A 12-member planning committee voted unanimously Saturday, approving a design that would strip the arena's industrial siding and replace it with a glass and translucent covering. The planning committee supported plans for replacing the convention center with a campus-like facility of five buildings linked by a covered walkway, with a small park in the center. The new civic center would be on the west side of Rupp in what is now the Cox Street parking lot. Town Branch, which now runs underground through the area, would be brought to the surface to flow through a green space surrounding the civic center. The Jefferson Street viaduct would be removed. Within the arts and entertainment district would be underground parking, an amphitheater, retail stores on Main Street and High Street and arts and education facilities. The renovation and and a new convention center is estimated at up to $260 million. A feasibility study released in November showed that renovating Rupp would cost $110 million to $130 million, compared to $300 million to $325 million for a new arena. Expanding Lexington Center to add convention and exhibition space would carry a price tag of $70 million, compared to $100 million to $130 million for a new convention center. City officials estimate the entire project would take 10 to 20 years to complete.