Freedom Hall is a multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, on the grounds of the

Kentucky Exposition Center The Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC), is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Originally built in 1956. It is overseen by the Kentucky Venues and is the sixth largest facility of its type in the U.S., with of indoor ...

, which is owned by the Commonwealth of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. It is best known for its use as a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

arena, previously serving as the home of the

University of Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Con ...

and, since November 2020, as the home of the Bellarmine University Knights. It has hosted

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, AC/DC,

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

events, Mötley Crüe,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

, Janis Joplin, Creed,

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

and many more. As well as the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team from 1956 to 2010, the arena’s tenants included the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association from 1970 until the ABA-NBA merger in June 1976, and the Louisville Cardinals women's team from its inception in 1975 to 2010. The Kentucky Stickhorses of the North American Lacrosse League used Freedom Hall from 2011 until the team folded in 2013. From 2015 to 2019 it has hosted the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship Finals yearly in mid-April. The arena lost its status as

Kentuckiana Kentuckiana, a portmanteau of Kentucky and Indiana, is the area in the Upland South region of the United States containing metropolitan areas with counties in both Kentucky and Indiana. Kentuckiana is primarily the Louisville metropolitan area, in ...

's main indoor sporting and concert venue when the downtown KFC Yum! Center opened in 2010. It is still used regularly, however, hosting concerts, horse shows, conventions, and basketball games.

History

Freedom Hall was completed in 1956 in the newly opened

Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center The Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC), is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Originally built in 1956. It is overseen by the Kentucky Venues and is the sixth largest facility of its type in the U.S., with of indoor ...

located south of

Downtown Louisville Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jaco ...

. It received its name as the result of a statewide essay contest sponsored by the State Fair Board and the American Legion. Charlotte Owens, a senior at

DuPont Manual High School duPont Manual High School is a public magnet high school located in the Old Louisville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It serves students in grades 9– 12. It is a part of the Jefferson County Public School District. DuPo ...

, submitted the winning entry over 6,500 others. Designed for the nation's premier equestrian competition, the Kentucky State Fair World's Championship Horse Show, the floor length and permanent seating were designed specifically for the almost -long show ring (in comparison, a regulation hockey rink is long, and a basketball court is only 94 feet). The

North American International Livestock Exposition North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) is a livestock show held each November in Louisville, Kentucky and lasts for two weeks. It is billed as the "world's largest all-breed, purebred livestock exposition", with nine major livest ...

also is held there each November. Muhammad Ali fought his first professional fight at Freedom Hall when he won a six-round decision over

Tunney Hunsaker Tunney Morgan Hunsaker (September 1, 1930 – April 27, 2005) was a mid-20th century American professional boxer, who also served as the Police Chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia. Early life He was born in the Western Kentucky town of Princet ...

. Freedom Hall was also one of the major stops on the Motortown (later MOTOWN) traveling music revue during the early and mid-1960s. Judgment Day (2000) was also held at the Freedom Hall. A

collegiate wrestling Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the form of wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States. This style of wrestling, with some slight modifications, is also practiced at high school and m ...

tournament was held at the arena in 2019.

Tenant history

The Kentucky Colonels fielded successful teams during their tenure at Freedom Hall, winning the American Basketball Association (ABA) Championship in the 1974–75 season and reaching the ABA Finals two other times. The 1970-71 team played in the ABA Championship Finals, losing to the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving t ...

in 7 games. The 1972-73 team advanced to the Finals again, losing to the Indiana Pacers in 7 games. The Colonels were disbanded when the ABA merged with the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

in 1976. Hall of Fame players

Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per ...

and

Artis Gilmore Artis Gilmore (born September 21, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basket ...

played for the Colonels during their successful run. Hall of Fame Coach

Hubie Brown Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American retired basketball coach and player and a current television analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors being separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naism ...

coached the Colonels Championship team. In 1984 the facility was refurbished, including lowering the floor to allow maximum capacity to increase from 16,664 to 18,865 for basketball. It was the full-time home of Cardinal men's basketball from the 1957–58 season to 2010, with the team winning 82% of home games in 50+ seasons. U of L was ranked in the Top 5 in attendance for the past 25 years, with 16 of the last 19 years averaging more than 100% of capacity. In addition to being the home of the Cardinals, Freedom Hall has hosted NCAA tournament games ten times, including six Final Fours between 1958 and 1969. The arena has also hosted 11 conference tournaments, nine Metro Conference Tournaments and two Conference USA tournaments—2001 and 2003. It has also hosted the Kentucky Boys' High School State Basketball Tournament (also known as the Sweet 16) 23 times, including every year from 1965 to 1978. In 1984, the floor of the arena was lowered about to increase the capacity of the arena from 16,613 to its current figure. In the 1996–97 season Freedom Hall averaged an attendance of 19,590 surpassing arena capacity. Freedom Hall hosts the Championship tractor pull every February during the National Farm Machinery Show. From 2001 to 2008, the

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

team

Louisville Fire The Louisville Fire was an arena football team that played its home games at the Brown-Forman Field in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. They were a 2001 expansion team of the af2. Their owner/operator was former Pro Bowl lineman and Louisv ...

of the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

played in Freedom Hall before ceasing operations. On the lower level is the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame where an engraved bronze plaque honors each inductee. The University of Louisville men's basketball team played their final game at Freedom Hall in front of a record crowd of 20,138 on March 6, 2010, against Syracuse University, the #1 ranked team in the nation. Louisville won in an upset 78–68. The arena began to gain new tenants in 2012 with the addition of the Kentucky Stickhorses, and in 2013, with the addition of the Kentucky Xtreme. However, the Kentucky Stickhorses folded in 2014 after the lack of wins and the lack of attendance. The Kentucky Xtreme were suspended mid-season with other teams playing the remainder of their season. In 2020, the Bellarmine University Knights selected Freedom Hall as their home for men's and women's basketball.

Gallery

File:Freedom Hall.jpg, Freedom Hall at a distance File:FreedomHall3.jpg, 2008 File:FreedomHall2.jpg, 2008

References

External links

University of Louisville athletics' website on Freedom Hall
{{Authority control 1956 establishments in Kentucky American Basketball Association venues Arena football venues Basketball venues in Kentucky Bellarmine Knights basketball Boxing venues in the United States Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Indoor arenas in Kentucky Music venues in Kentucky Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Indoor lacrosse venues in the United States Kentucky Colonels Kentucky State Fair Louisville Cardinals men's basketball venues Louisville Cardinals women's basketball venues NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four venues Sports venues completed in 1956 Sports venues in Louisville, Kentucky Wrestling venues in the United States

History

Tenant history

Gallery

See also

References

External links