The Louisville Courier Journal is reporting that the $238 Million Yum Center, Louisville’s Downtown Arena is expecting to make a profit in its first full year of operation. Included in the projection is a $6.5 Million payment from the City of Louisville to apply toward the debt on the bonds issued to finance the construction of Yum Center.
The Yum Center also includes sponsorships of nearly $5 Million per year lead by Yum Brands that signed a 10 year naming agreement for $1.3 Million per year. Yum Center is the home of the Louisville Cardinals basketball team that sells out all of its home games and the Lady Cardinals who have leveraged their 2009 national runner up status to average over 11,000 people per game. The Lady Cardinals recently sold out the 22,000 seat Yum Center for a game with arch rival Kentucky.
$1.2 mil profit, what’s that, a 198+ year payback period?
Ouch.
Don’t worry kids, in 40 years the negative equity will be rolled again into another “deal”, that can squeak a “profit”.
Louisville has a profitable new arena AND is keeping historic Freedom Hall. Well done Louisville!!!
Yep, inside that article is the reality that the City of Louisville is kicking $6.5M per year into the Yum Center budget so without the City they would be losing $5.2M but this one really did inspire over $100M of investment right across the street. The jury is out on Evansville. When you have 20 – 25 sell outs a year at 22,000 seats each just from UL basketball it make it easier to make a profit. UL alone will bring between 600k and 700k attendees to Yum Center. The Evansville Arena does not have any anchor tenant with that much drawing power. Now if the Aces can be in the top 25 that would be a game changer for the Arena. It would be for Roberts too.
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