Last year, Champions Blue LLC, the LLC created for UK Athletics, announced the plan to build an entertainment district near Kroger Field to create a new revenue stream. Earlier this week, the school made the next step before the district’s construction, choosing one of four proposals.

On Tuesday, Kevin Locke, UK’s Associate Vice President of planning, design and construction, informed the Champions Blue Board of Governors that the school is moving forward with the “Cooper Connector” plan. This proposal is based on similar districts created near arenas for Ohio State University, Arizona State University, the Green Bay Packers, and the Atlanta Braves.

As an effect of this plan, Bluegrass Community and Technical College will vacate from the school’s original home on Cooper Drive by the end of 2026, a spokesperson told the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Despite BCTC still holding classes, Kentucky originally took control over the property with an agreement in 2008, after BCTC built a new campus at the former site of Eastern State Hospital, which moved to land owned by UK on the Coldstream Research campus.

The “Cooper Connector” plan includes retail and a hotel conference center, but dining will serve as the anchor, as Locke explained to the board on Tuesday.

“Food and beverage, that would serve as the anchor use for this scheme,” Locke said. “This location needs genuine energy, with multiple retail spots creating critical mass, rather than an isolated, one-off destination. And with the right mix of food, entertainment, and access, this corridor will come alive and attract private investors as well as become an asset for the university, staff, and surrounding community.”

With the plan, there are still some final decisions to be made over the coming weeks, including the precise location for the hotel conference center.

Perhaps the biggest decision will be whether to include a multi-use facility that would include a new basketball practice facility into the Kroger Field entertainment district or as part of a district to be built near Historic Memorial Coliseum that will include retail, housing, and parking. A conversation study is needed, set to be complete this summer.

Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

The Lexington Legends (2-2) had its home opener against the Charleston Dirty Birds (2-2) on Friday April 24th and it was the stuff of movies

Not only did the Legends climb back from being down as much as six runs, they won it 10-9 in the most dramatic of finishes

Tie ball game, two outs, bases loaded, bottom of the tenth inning and it’s Dylan Rock at the plate

The Legends scored six runs in two innings to force the extra frame

The rain that started an hour before had finally let up

Taking advantage of the calm weather first was the Dirty Birds going up 9-7 in the top of the tenth

But after a few power hits and a walked batter sent a runner on third home, the score sat at nine even

So there was Dylan Rock with the pressure of 3400 fans weighing on him

The moment so tense you almost heard the whoosh of the pitch flying, but what everyone did hear was the crack of the bat sending the ball flying to right center

And just like that the runner on third made it home and and the dug out rushed the diamond

Rock was swarmed by his team before he could even clear second base

The cheers roared almost as loud as the fireworks boomed after the game was over

From being down 7-1 in the seventh inning to a walk off win in extra innings

Top to bottom this was a opening day game that will take a long time to forget

Up next for the Legends is game two of their opening weekend series versus the Charleston Dirty Birds on Saturday April 25 at 7:00 p.m. ET streaming on the Hometeam Live Network

A firework show that lit up the sky, a car line so long it blocked traffic, a band so loud you could hear them from the parking lot and even a barber shop quartet serenading fans in the suites

So what was the reason for the commotion in northern Lexington, it was the home opener for the Lexington Legends (2-2)

3489 fans came to watch Lexington’s professional ball club get a 10-9 win over the Charleston Dirty Birds (2-2)

Family Fun

“There was something for everybody,” said Legends General Manager Justin Ferrarella on the festivities for the fans. “It’s a community place, it’s a place where people can come and turn off the rest of the world for three hours and enjoy themselves,” he continued

And it seemed most did enjoy themselves, upstairs in the suites a barber shop quartet went room to room singing their tunes to attendees in the box seats

On the field the Henry Clay Marching band put on a show while kids on little league teams walked the bases and high-fived Legends players in the dugout

In left field, the designated kid zone had an inflatable slide

In between innings the Legends brought out fans to the field for an array of fun competitions

Kids participated in a ballon popping and water pouring competitions, as well as a bug race where fans raced a man in a cockroach costume through the outfield

And capping off the night was a firework show that in the words of the Legends home broadcaster Steve Tressler was a “Fourth of July sized show.”

Clutch Ending

Along with the fireworks, the last two innings were a show in itself

The Legends had a late surge scoring six runs in two innings to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth

And then the scenario that every baseball player imagines, tie game, bases loaded, two outs bottom of the ninth, or in the legends case bottom of the tenth

At the plate Dylan Rock the outfielder who’s played as high as double a ball swings at a pitch he likes and the runner on third secures the win

The entire dugout is on the field before Rock can clear second base and the fans who have been on their feet since the bottom of the ninth are roaring in excitement

You wouldn’t be able to script a better opening day if you tried

There are 62 more home games in the season for the Legends and their next one is Saturday April 24 at 7:00 p.m. and yes there will be another firework show