07-09-2005, 12:42 PM
NKU is putting its $60M arena on the fast track
Post staff report
Northern Kentucky University officials want to open their $60 million Bank of Kentucky Center - a 9,000 to 10,000-seat arena for sports, concerts and other big events - two years from now.
That's a tall order because the first spade of dirt hasn't been turned on the project.
Still, NKU is going to give it a try.
"We're hoping to fast-track this and have it completed in the fall of 2007," said Ken Ramey, NKU vice president of finance and administration.
"That is very optimistic. A more realistic opening date would be the spring of 2008, but we're going to try our best for 2007."
NKU plans to sign contracts in August or September with designers, architects, engineers and a firm to manage the facility.
"Then we'll move very quickly," said Ramey. "Once the design team is named, the first thing they will do is ensure that the facility will sit on the site we prefer."
That site is near the main entrance of the Highland Heights campus off U.S. 27, down a hill and in a ravine close to the intersection of Nunn and University drives.
The site is preferable to two other possible sites farther inside the campus because it won't cause interior campus traffic jams and because it will be close to another development planned near the main entrance - a hotel, office and retail complex to be built by the NKU Foundation.
"We really hope to create synergy between the foundation development and the Bank of Kentucky Center," said Ramey.
A wide variety of events will be staged in the new arena - NKU and high school basketball games and tournaments, concerts, trade shows, college and high school graduation ceremonies and other large gatherings.
Ramey said he expects about 100 events in the first year of the center's operation and NKU President James Votruba said the facility could eventually host 140 events a year.
Concerts and other types of entertainment figure to be a big part of the center, said Votruba, who last week toured the thriving 8,500-seat Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., to get an idea of what the NKU arena can be.
"That visit reinforced my expectation that our center will be a hub for all kinds of entertainment and performances," said Votruba.
"I met with a group that manages 170 venues and they said we can bring in the likes of Elton John and Bruce Springsteen and other major headliners. It's going to be really exciting."
Votruba also says the arena will help NKU recruit students.
"It will bring thousands of families and young people onto our campus and get them thinking about college," he said.
The center will link NKU with Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati and the surrounding area in a new way, said Ramey.
"It's going to provide a resource we've never had before in Northern Kentucky," he said. "This is truly a community special events center."
Gary Toebben, president of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, said the center is something that the community has needed for years.
"It's a new venue that will give us the opportunity to host a whole series of entertainment, sports and other activities we've never been able to host before," he said. "It should bring large numbers of people to Northern Kentucky. It will be great for our community."
Ramey said even though it's not yet known what the center will look like - architects will soon decide that - he's anxious to get construction of the facility started.
"We've been hoping for this for many years," he said, "and now we're finally to the point where we can let this thing run."
Publication date: 07-09-2005
Post staff report
Northern Kentucky University officials want to open their $60 million Bank of Kentucky Center - a 9,000 to 10,000-seat arena for sports, concerts and other big events - two years from now.
That's a tall order because the first spade of dirt hasn't been turned on the project.
Still, NKU is going to give it a try.
"We're hoping to fast-track this and have it completed in the fall of 2007," said Ken Ramey, NKU vice president of finance and administration.
"That is very optimistic. A more realistic opening date would be the spring of 2008, but we're going to try our best for 2007."
NKU plans to sign contracts in August or September with designers, architects, engineers and a firm to manage the facility.
"Then we'll move very quickly," said Ramey. "Once the design team is named, the first thing they will do is ensure that the facility will sit on the site we prefer."
That site is near the main entrance of the Highland Heights campus off U.S. 27, down a hill and in a ravine close to the intersection of Nunn and University drives.
The site is preferable to two other possible sites farther inside the campus because it won't cause interior campus traffic jams and because it will be close to another development planned near the main entrance - a hotel, office and retail complex to be built by the NKU Foundation.
"We really hope to create synergy between the foundation development and the Bank of Kentucky Center," said Ramey.
A wide variety of events will be staged in the new arena - NKU and high school basketball games and tournaments, concerts, trade shows, college and high school graduation ceremonies and other large gatherings.
Ramey said he expects about 100 events in the first year of the center's operation and NKU President James Votruba said the facility could eventually host 140 events a year.
Concerts and other types of entertainment figure to be a big part of the center, said Votruba, who last week toured the thriving 8,500-seat Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., to get an idea of what the NKU arena can be.
"That visit reinforced my expectation that our center will be a hub for all kinds of entertainment and performances," said Votruba.
"I met with a group that manages 170 venues and they said we can bring in the likes of Elton John and Bruce Springsteen and other major headliners. It's going to be really exciting."
Votruba also says the arena will help NKU recruit students.
"It will bring thousands of families and young people onto our campus and get them thinking about college," he said.
The center will link NKU with Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati and the surrounding area in a new way, said Ramey.
"It's going to provide a resource we've never had before in Northern Kentucky," he said. "This is truly a community special events center."
Gary Toebben, president of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, said the center is something that the community has needed for years.
"It's a new venue that will give us the opportunity to host a whole series of entertainment, sports and other activities we've never been able to host before," he said. "It should bring large numbers of people to Northern Kentucky. It will be great for our community."
Ramey said even though it's not yet known what the center will look like - architects will soon decide that - he's anxious to get construction of the facility started.
"We've been hoping for this for many years," he said, "and now we're finally to the point where we can let this thing run."
Publication date: 07-09-2005