Preliminary Work Begins On Rupp Arena Upgrade

{Lexington, Kentucky}...At a monthly meeting Thursday, Bill Owen, president and CEO of the Lexington Center Corp., announced that preliminary work has begun on upgrading the University of Kentucky men's basketball locker room and related improvements at Rupp Arena. Construction is scheduled to start May 21st. Owen said the center has received five responses to its advertisement for a construction manager, and, hopefully, a decision will be made in the next week or two. Once the construction manager is selected, direct bidding for the rest of the project will begin. In March, the Lexington Center board approved an upgrade to the locker rooms that was initiated by coach John Calipari. Calipari has received $2.5 million in commitments from private donors for the $2.9 million project. The remaining $400,000 would come from the capital reserve fund of the Lexington Center Corp.