University of Kentucky Athletics
RUPP ARENA
Rupp Arena is the home court of the University of Kentucky Wildcats. It is one of the largest arenas of its kind in the country and it is located in the heart of downtown. The Kentucky Wildcats have a rich history in college basketball with eight NCAA National Championships and numerous Final Four and Runner-up banners. Wildcat fans are some of the most rabid fans of any team in any sport in the world. It isn’t uncommon for the average yearly attendance to exceed the stated capacity of Rupp Arena. Adjacent to Rupp Arena are a convention center, hotel, shopping mall, and numerous restaurants at the Lexington Civic Center.
KROGER FIELD
In addition to college basketball, Kentucky Wildcat fans also pour into 61,000-seat Kroger Field in the fall for exciting SEC football games. Kroger Field is quickly becoming a tailgating mecca as football fans enjoy the warm autumn weather and match-ups with the top teams in college football. In 2015, Kroger Field completed a $120 million renovation, featuring a synthetic turf field, a new multi-level tower of club seating, a new recruiting room, and a new student section. Kentucky football holds a unique and storied tradition that began in 1881, when they were the first Southeastern Conference team to introduce football into its athletic program. Kentucky football has won one national championship, two Southeastern Conference championships and appeared in 18 bowls. The Wildcats are the 2006 & 2007 Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, 2008 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, 2018 Citrus Bowl, 2019 Belk Bowl, 2020 Gator Bowl, and 2021 Citrus Bowl champions.
For more information, please visit ukathletics.com
LEXINGTON COUNTER CLOCKS
The Lexington Counter Clocks are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a “partner league” of Major League Baseball. The Counter Clocks have played their home games at Wild Health Field since 2001.
CINCINNATI REDS
A Major League Baseball team is only an hour’s drive from Lexington. The Cincinnati Reds are based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and play home games at the Great American Ball Park, which hosted the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
CINCINNATI BENGALS
The Cincinnati Bengals are housed in Cincinnati, which means that Lexingtonians are only an hour’s drive from attending a professional NFL game at the Bengal’s home stadium, the Paul Brown Stadium, located in downtown Cincinnati.
LEXINGTON SPORTING CLUB
For soccer fans, Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional soccer team based in Lexington. Founded in 2021, the team began its inaugural season in 2023.
FC CINCINNATI
FC Cincinnati is located an hour’s drive north of Lexington as well. The club is began play in 2016 as part of the United Soccer League (USL), but, due to record-breaking attendance and the construction of a new soccer stadium, FC Cincinnati was promoted to the top-tier division of U.S. soccer, Major League Soccer (MLS). FC Cincinnati’s first MLS campaign began with the 2019 season.