How Playing at Rupp Arena Could Affect Kentucky WBB

Although the Kentucky women’s basketball team is used to playing some games at Rupp Arena each year, they’ll have to adjust to playing the majority of their home games at Rupp this year. Due to an ongoing renovation of Memorial Coliseum, the Wildcats will defend their home court inside of the Central Bank Center for the 2023-24 season.

A handful of home games will also take place at Transylvania’s Clive M. Beck Center and one at Georgetown College’s Davis-Reid Alumni Gym, but most will happen at Rupp Arena.

For starters, let’s take a gander at the differences between the two venues. Rupp Arena was built in late 1976, while Memorial Coliseum was built back in 1950. Rupp Arena now holds 20,545 people after undergoing its own $310 million renovation in 2019. As of right now, Memorial Coliseum has a max capacity of just 8,500.

Memorial Coliseum is sort of like an ancient artifact in Lexington. It was previously the home of the men’s basketball team, and the building holds a lot of historical value to those who have been fans of UK athletics for decades. However, the ancient nature of Memorial Coliseum has it’s cons.

Perhaps the biggest issue with Memorial Coliseum is the fact that there is no A/C throughout the arena. There are times when the climate gets uncomfortably hot or even humid, but luckily that normally isn’t an issue during the fall and winter. In addition, the whole arena needs just a touch of modernism to keep the facility up to standard. From seating to security and to visual and audio features, Memorial Coliseum was in desperate need of an update.

So, the question begs, how much will being forced to play in Rupp Arena affect the women’s basketball team? Let’s take a closer look.

Rupp Arena is Much More Intense

Maybe one of the biggest differences between Memorial and Rupp is the fact that Rupp has almost 2.5 times the maximum capacity that Memorial does. As the mecca of the BBN, one of the most passionate and high-energy fanbases in the country, the environment at Rupp Arena is much more intense and rowdy compared to Memorial Coliseum. That could put a lot more pressure on the women’s team to perform even more than they are used to. It’s also a larger venue and will be more difficult to fill the stands than it has been to fill Memorial.

With what most likely is an unwanted change of scenery, the women’s basketball team will have to adjust to their new home. For players such as Maddie Scherr, Eniya Russell, and Ajae Petty, they already had to adjust to playing in Lexington after transferring from other schools, and now they’ll have to get used to playing in a much larger arena. Players such as Nyah Leveretter and Emma King have spent their entire collegiate careers at Memorial, but that will change for them this season.

The 2023-2024 season will be all about figuring things out and making adjustments for the Lady Cats. There are certainly a lot of factors that could have a negative effect on the team, but hopefully, playing in Rupp Arena can be a good thing for Kyra Elzy’s team. Click here for more information about what exactly is happening with Memorial Coliseum.