A renovated Memorial Coliseum was key in luring Kenny Brooks to Kentucky

In hindsight, the University of Kentucky’s significant investment in renovating Memorial Coliseum couldn’t have come at a better time. As women’s college basketball — and women’s sports in general — continue to rise in popularity, so does the need for more resources.

Had UK not decided to invest $82 million into Memorial Coliseum (which hosts the likes of women’s basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and more) back in February of last year, Kenny Brooks might not be the new head coach of Kentucky women’s basketball right now.

No, seriously. Brooks said as much himself during his introductory press conference on Thursday.

“Not sure if I would be here if it weren’t,” Brooks said honestly about the upgrades to his new home court. That being said, a fresh facility is just a piece of the puzzle — something to help draw in recruits and fans. The real work will happen inside Memorial Coliseum.

“In this day and age, it matters. It really does. It’s an arms race sometimes for facilities,” Brooks added. “You have to have something really nice to be able to lure them in. I’m a firm believer, it’s not necessarily the building, it’s what’s in the building. But we need to be able to track it and kind of equate it. I use the analogy that when you go to buy a home and you walk into the new home you look at every nook and cranny. Do they have crown molding? What is the hardwood, is it carpet? But after a month you don’t recognize that crown molding anymore. What’s inside the building is your family.”

UK has a few renditions of what the upgraded Memorial Coliseum will look like starting with the 2024-25 season. pic.twitter.com/cANfViHWva

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) March 28, 2024

I was able to peek inside the ongoing construction after Brooks’ press conference to get a sense of what’s in store. The actual arena is still a work in progress, but UK athletic director Barnhart believes the building will be “substantially completed” by August with intentions of opening it up for the fall sports season. Fan capacity is expected to range from 6,500 to 6,700, according to Barnhart — a bit smaller than the previous size of roughly 8,500 fans — but with a much more immersive experience.

“It’s gonna be a home court environment that will be uniquely cool to us,” Mitch Barnhart said.

Outside of the arena will be just as special, if not more so. Barnhart added that there will be a county-by-county display honoring Kentucky veterans throughout the years.

If anyone can fill this upgraded gym, it would be Brooks. He passed the first press conference test with flying colors. His resume speaks for itself too. All Brooks has done in his 20-plus years as a head coach is win at unprecedented rates. Virginia Tech was a bottom-tier ACC program when he took over, nearly 15 years removed from a winning conference record. Seven years later, the Hokies were playing in the Final Four.

With a fresh arena and endless resources, can he pull Kentucky out of the gutter that it’s been sleeping in the last two seasons?

“I just know what it can be,” Brooks said about the Kentucky WBB program. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the city because everything that I hear it’s a wonderful city. Passionate fans. And you know, with all of the resources waiting to burst where you can capitalize on it. Now it is a very tough league. A very tough league. I understand that. I think if we get in and put in the work the skies the limit. Nobody thought we would go to the Final Four with Virginia Tech.”

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