Kentucky Exposition Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kentucky Exposition Center |
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The main entrance and South Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center
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| Coordinates | 38°12′0″N 85°44′31″W / 38.20000°N 85.74194°W |
| Owner | Kentucky State Fair Board |
| Operator | Kentucky State Fair Board |
| Opened | 1956 |
| Enclosed space | |
| • Total space | 1,200,000 |
| Parking | 19000 spaces |
The Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC) is a huge building complex in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It opened in 1956 and is managed by Kentucky Venues. It's one of the largest places of its kind in the U.S.
KEC has over 1.3 million square feet of indoor space. That's like 22 football fields! It also has almost 500 acres of outdoor space. This includes grassy areas and concrete pads.
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What's Inside KEC?
The Kentucky Exposition Center has two main arenas. These are Broadbent Arena and Freedom Hall.
Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall is one of the arenas. It used to be home to the University of Louisville men's and women's basketball teams. They played there until 2010. Freedom Hall can hold up to 18,875 people.
Broadbent Arena
Broadbent Arena is the other arena at KEC. It can hold up to 6,600 people. Both arenas host many different events.
Other Facilities
KEC also has lots of space for animals. There are 1,000 permanent horse stalls. Plus, they can add 720 temporary stalls. This makes it perfect for livestock shows.
Big Events at KEC
The Kentucky Exposition Center hosts many exciting events every year.
- The Kentucky State Fair: This is a huge fair with rides, food, and animal shows.
- The North American International Livestock Exposition: This is one of the biggest livestock shows in the world.
- The VEX Robotics World Championships: Teams from all over the world come to compete with their robots.
- The National Farm Machinery Show: This show features the latest in farming equipment.
Sports History at KEC
KEC has a rich history of hosting sports.
College Sports
Cardinal Stadium was once on the KEC grounds. It was a big stadium for baseball and American football. The University of Louisville football team played there. The Louisville Redbirds minor league baseball team also called it home. The stadium was taken down in 2019.
Freedom Hall has hosted six NCAA Final Fours. These are the championship games for college basketball. KEC also hosted the minor league world series for baseball. There was even an attempt to start a college football game called the Bluegrass Bowl.
Auto Racing
The Fairgrounds Motor Speedway was also at KEC. It hosted car races from 1961 to 1979. These included races like the International 500.
Extreme Sports
In 2004, Louisville was chosen to host the Dew Tour. This is a series of extreme sports competitions. The event, called the Panasonic Open, took place at KEC in June 2005. It returned to Louisville in 2006.
KEC's Growth and Changes
The facility has changed its name and expanded over the years.
Name Change
In February 2006, the facility changed its name. It went from "Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center" to "Kentucky Exposition Center." This new name better showed what the center does.
New North Wing
In April 2006, work began to update KEC. The old East Wing was taken down. It was replaced with a new, modern area called the North Wing. This new part has higher ceilings and fewer support poles. It also has a skywalk. This skywalk lets people easily get to the main lobby from the parking areas. The new North Wing was finished in October 2007.
Getting There
The Kentucky Exposition Center is easy to reach. It's right next to major highways like I-65 and the Henry Watterson Expressway. It's also very close to the Louisville International Airport.
