Louisville Gardens

Louisville Gardens
Former names	Jefferson County Armory; Louisville Convention Center
Location	Louisville, Kentucky
Public transit
	Jefferson County Armory
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Coordinates	38°15′5.06″N 85°45′37.26″W / 38.2514056°N 85.7603500°W
Built	1905
Built by	Caldwell & Drake
Architect	Davis, Brinton B.
Architectural style	Beaux Arts
NRHP reference No.	80001606
Added to NRHP	March 24, 1980
Owner	City of Louisville
Capacity	6,000
Opened	1905
Tenants
	Louisville Cardinals (NCAA) (1945–1956); Louisville Blades (USHL/IHL) (1949–1951); Louisville Shooting Stars (IHL) (1953–1954); Kentucky Colonels (ABA) (1967–1970); Louisville Catbirds (CBA) (1983–1985); Louisville Shooters (GBA) (1991–1992); Kentucky Colonels (ABA) (2004–2006)

Louisville Gardens is a multi-purpose, 6,000-seat arena, in Louisville, Kentucky, that opened in 1905, as the Jefferson County Armory. It celebrated its 100th anniversary as former city mayor Jerry Abramson's official "Family-Friendly New Years Eve" celebration location. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

History

The facility has served the city of Louisville and Jefferson County in a variety of ways during the past century, from utilization as an actual armory to American Basketball Association's Kentucky Colonels basketball games, to various wrestling events, concerts, political rallies, and the staging of Hurricane Katrina flood relief. Elvis Presley performed before a capacity crowd on November 25, 1956. In addition, the pop sensation band Jackson 5—known as "The Jacksons" during this era—performed on October 7, 1979, as part of the band's 4th leg from their Destiny World Tour. More recently, WWE used the 3,000-person capacity arena as a training ground for future stars in a minor-league promotion known as Ohio Valley Wrestling, until the organization moved to the Davis Arena. WWE also staged two pay-per-view events while the venue was known as Louisville Gardens: (In Your House 6 and In Your House 17: Ground Zero). TNA Wrestling held an event at the venue in 2007. Freedom Hall replaced the small, aging facility in 1956, as a more popular venue for city events. Martin Luther King Jr. (Tuesday, August 23, 1960)^[2] and Harry Truman both spoke at the arena.

Use as a sports arena

Primary home of Louisville Cardinals men's basketball starting in 1945 when Bernard "Peck" Hickman was head coach until 1956 when they moved to Freedom Hall. They played occasional games there each season until their last on November 30, 1972. The Louisville Cardinals were 153-23 all time at the armory.^[3] The Kentucky Wildcats when led by Adolph Rupp played 72 games at the armory going 61-11 there from 1937 to 1956.^[4] Included in that was games played in the SEC men's basketball tournament which was held at the armory from 1941 to 1952. Additionally, the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament was held there from 1949 to 1955 and again from 1964 to 1967.

The Kentucky Colonels, of the American Basketball Association, played their home games at the facility, then known as the Louisville Convention Center, from 1967 through 1970. Louie Dampier was the team's best player in the era.^[5] On November 24, 1968, Penny Ann Early became the first female to appear in a men's professional league, playing briefly in a home game for the Colonels.^[6]

The Louisville Catbirds, of the Continental Basketball Association (1983–1985), the Louisville Shooters, of the Global Basketball Association (1991–1992) and the Kentucky Colonels, of the ABA 2000 (2004–2006), all played their home basketball games at the Louisville Gardens. The University of Louisville women's basketball team used the Gardens for six home games in the 1997–98 season.^[7] Ice hockey teams to use the Gardens as home ice include the Louisville Blades and the Louisville Shooting Stars.

Other names

The building was also known as the Convention Center or Louisville Convention Center, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. It was renamed Louisville Gardens in 1975 when the Commonwealth Convention Center (now called Kentucky International Convention Center) was being built.

Current status

In 2007, the Cordish Company, manager of the nearby Fourth Street Live! entertainment complex, agreed to take over operation of "The Gardens" from the Metro Louisville Government as part of a $250 million development in downtown Louisville. In 2012, Cordish was released from its obligations to the Gardens.^[8] In 2022, plans have been announced for the venue to be turned into a soundstage.^[9]^[10]

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ "MLK at the Jefferson County Armory | The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change". www.thekingcenter.org. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015.
^ Hall, C. Ray (October 9, 2010). "Louisville basketball has had many homes before the KFC Yum! Center". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012.
^ "Kentucky's Jefferson County Armory Record".
^ "Remember the ABA: Kentucky Colonels". Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
^ "Only in the ABA - Superstar for a Second".
^ "Records: Home/Attendance" (PDF). 2010–11 Louisville Cardinals Women's Basketball Media Guide. University of Louisville Sports information. p. 159. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
^ "Cordish obligation to revamp Louisville Gardens 'optional'". WDRB. September 17, 2012.
^ "Louisville Gardens soundstage proposal could be a boon for local film". Louisville Public Media. December 9, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
^ "Louisville Gardens". LouisvilleKy.gov. March 2024.

Shafer, Sheldon (May 7, 2000). "Gardens may need niche to survive". The Courier-Journal.
Shafer, Sheldon (August 30, 2007). "Historic Gardens may flourish again". The Courier-Journal.

External links

Media related to Louisville Gardens at Wikimedia Commons

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.

[2] "MLK at the Jefferson County Armory | The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change". www.thekingcenter.org. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015.

[3] Hall, C. Ray (October 9, 2010). "Louisville basketball has had many homes before the KFC Yum! Center". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012.

[4] "Kentucky's Jefferson County Armory Record".

[5] "Remember the ABA: Kentucky Colonels". Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.

[6] "Only in the ABA - Superstar for a Second".

[7] "Records: Home/Attendance" (PDF). 2010–11 Louisville Cardinals Women's Basketball Media Guide. University of Louisville Sports information. p. 159. Retrieved March 5, 2011.

[8] "Cordish obligation to revamp Louisville Gardens 'optional'". WDRB. September 17, 2012.

[9] "Louisville Gardens soundstage proposal could be a boon for local film". Louisville Public Media. December 9, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2024.

[10] "Louisville Gardens". LouisvilleKy.gov. March 2024.

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v t e Kentucky Colonels
Based in Louisville, Kentucky
Franchise	Franchise Players Executives
Arenas	Louisville Gardens Freedom Hall
Head Coaches	John Givens Gene Rhodes Alex Groza Frank Ramsey Joe Mullaney Babe McCarthy Hubie Brown
History	1975 ABA Champions 1971 ABA Runner Up 1973 ABA Runner Up Penny Ann Early ABA–NBA merger
ABA All-Time Team Players	Darel Carrier Louie Dampier Artis Gilmore Dan Issel Maurice Lucas
Seasons	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76

v t e Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Venues	Belknap Gymnasium (1933–1944) Jefferson County Armory (1945–1956) Freedom Hall (1956–2010) KFC Yum! Center (2010–present)
Rivalries	Cincinnati Kentucky Memphis
Culture & lore	Billy Minardi Classic Cardinal Bird The Rivalry: Red v. Blue
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NAIA and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Music venues of Kentucky
Theaters and clubs	The Kentucky Center Palace Theatre Mountain Arts Center Paramount Arts Center
Arenas	Appalachian Wireless Arena Freedom Hall KFC Yum! Center Louisville Gardens Rupp Arena
Festivals	Cropped Out Festival of the Bluegrass Forecastle Festival Ichthus Festival Louder Than Life Railbird Festival