LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Louisville Arena Authority and Baird are extending their KFC Yum! Center’s cornerstone partnership agreement through 2023.
Hilliard Lyons had been the arena’s official financial services partner since the venue opened in 2010, and in 2019, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Baird. Baird assumed the agreement and this extension allows the company to update and rebrand its assets at the KFC Yum! Center while allowing the venue to continue to provide excellent service and amenities to its guests.
Baird is also the arena’s suite level naming rights partner, and visitors to the KFC Yum! Center will be welcomed to the arena’s suite levels with newly installed concert artwork that highlights a number of events hosted at the venue throughout its first 10 years. Updated Baird signage will be installed at the arena’s east and west entrances, throughout the facility and on the arena’s digital screens.
The arena reopened in a limited capacity to basketball fans at the Wade Houston Tipoff Classic in November, and the University of Louisville men’s and women’s basketball teams will continue to play at the arena with limited fans for the remainder of the season. For the safety of the arena’s employees and guests, arena staff have implemented VenueShield, a globally recognized program developed in partnership with leading medical professionals and industry experts that provides enhanced safety protocols. These include increased disinfectant cleaning, temperature screenings, face covering requirements, physical distancing, additional hand sanitizer stations, digital ticketing and more.
The KFC Yum! Center is a multi-purpose arena that overlooks the Ohio River in downtown Louisville and attracts approximately 1 million fans to ticketed events annually. It boasts a total of 721,762 s.f. while offering an arena bowl exceeding 22,000 seats and nine bars and lounges all within walking distance of more than 6,000 hotel rooms in downtown Louisville. It is home to the University of Louisville men’s and women’s basketball programs and attracts several top grossing concerts and events annually.
Baird is an employee-owned, international wealth management, asset management, investment banking/capital markets, and private equity firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.
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