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Tons of memories for the observer of watching University of Louisville basketball for decades at Freedom Hall, eager to share a few of them before the era ends in the game against Syracuse on March 6.
Among them is the reopening of the arena on Dec. 1, 1984 after an expansion made possible by Gov. John Y. Brown, Jr. increased capacity from 16,613 to 18,865 at a cost of $13 million.
Renovation crews tore out lower arena seating and removed 10,000 square feet of dirt to lower the arena floor about 10 feet.
The facility featured luxury boxes for the first time, 24 of them on the lower level. It also included a new $1 million scoreboard, a $750,000 lighting system and a $250,000 sound system.
Virginia Commonwealth was the foe, and fans attending the game were awarded “First Nighter” certificates. U of L won, 67-55.
Got some special memories of Freedom Hall? Share them with fellow Card fans here over the next couple of weeks. Fans with special stories are invited to submit articles here.
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I’m wondering whether John Y Brown did that for U of L or for the Kentucky Colonels, which he had an ownership interest in at one time. Whatever, he did get the job done. It’s a shame a new arena wasn’t built a lot sooner and saved us millions of dollars.