Taking a break from a booster event, a recent visitor to Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium wandered up the suite level on the east side just to check things out.
The first thing he saw was large block letters in metal reading “Stites & Harbison Suite Level.” Hmm. “Must be a big donor,” he concluded, but not recalling any recent major donations from the Louisville law firm.
Similar markings are apparently on the west side as well.
Now we know why.
The University announced Wednesday that Stites & Harbison has donated $2 million toward construction and support of the planned UofL Academic Center of Excellence. The $14 million facility will be located beneath the Norton Terrace at the south end of the stadium.
Stites & Harbison, headquartered in Louisville, is one of the oldest law practices in the nation and among the largest law firms in the Southeast, with offices in Atlanta, Alexandria, Va., Frankfort, Franklin, Tenn., Jeffersonville, Lexington and Nashville.
The observer worked at one point with James Stites, one of the firm’s founders, when Stites was President of the Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce. Making a donation to such a great cause was so typical of him.
Thank you, Stites & Harbison. Go Cards!