Louisville Gardens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Louisville Gardens is a multipurpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky that opened in 1905 as the Jefferson County Armory. It recently celebrated its 100th anniversary as city mayor Jerry Abramson's official "Family-Friendly New Years Eve" celebration location. The facility has served the city of Louisville and Jefferson County in a variety of ways during the past century, from utilization as an actual armory to ABA Kentucky Colonels basketball games to various wrestling events. Elvis Presley concerts, political rallies, and Hurricane Katrina flood relief have also been staged there. More recently, WWE used the 3,000 person capacity arena as a training ground for future stars in a minor-league promotion known as Ohio Valley Wrestling. WWE also staged two pay-per-view events at Louisville Gardens (In Your House #6 and Ground Zero). Freedom Hall replaced the small, aging facility in 1956 as a more popular venue for city events.

The Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament was held at the Jefferson County Armory from 1941-1952. Additionally, the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament was held there from 1949-1955 and again from 1964-1967.

Elvis Presley performed there, Martin Luther King Jr. and Harry Truman both spoke there. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The building was also known as the Convention Center, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. It was renamed Louisville Gardens in 1975.

[edit] Reference

• Shafer, Sheldon. "Gardens may need niche to survive", Courier-Journal, 2000-05-07.