Lexington mayor Jim Gray has announced a 40-plus member task force to study the Lexington Center and Rupp Arena, and create a development report addressing a possible redesign or redevelopment.
The Arena, Arts and Entertainment District Task Force, which will be chaired by attorney Brent Rice, will be focusing on the 46-acre site owned by the city of Lexington surrounding the current complex.  Mayor Gray compared the site to that of Louisville’s KFC Yum Center, saying, “This is a major competitive advantage and a unique asset in a downtown and city of our size.”
Gray said the members of the task force all possess a love for Lexington and of UK, adding that only one of the more than 40 people Gray asked to participate in the task force declined.
The project is expected to take at least nine months to complete, with a final report expected in early 2012, according to the timeline supplied by the mayor’s office.

The projected budget for the task force is $350,000.  ”This is what we think it will take to hire the best of the best, and that’s all we will take,” Gray said.  “We can dream and we can plan, but we have to find out how to pay for it.”
Gray added that the announcement today marks the initial phase of fundraising and the city will be asking for private donations. There are no plans to use public funds for the committee’s report.
“This project is all about activating the center of our city in imaginative and inspiring ways,” Gray said.  He added there were opportunities that would be emerging out of the study other than the arena itself, allowing the arts and downtown community to thrive alongside a revitalized Lexington Center.Gray said The University of Kentucky will be heavily involved with the project, calling it the city’s most important tenant.
Current University of Kentucky president Lee Todd spoke at the press conference saying the importance of improving the Lexington Center is, “bigger than basketball, it is to enhance the city,” to make Lexington “a better place to show talent off.”  Todd said he hoped Lexington would be able to handle the top plays out of New York City.

There has been a tendency for people to drive into Lexington for a game and drive back out, Todd said.  To Todd, the key is providing a vibrant city center that people will want to spend time walking around, allowing for a greater economical impact across the city.

“I hope the next president will understand the synergy between a vibrant downtown and the university three or four blocks away,” Todd said.
Gray acknowledged that problems during the process are to be expected.  “Good things like this go tough,” Gray said.  “They don’t happen overnight.”
“The best time to examine the future is when you are at the bottom,” Gray said responding to a question on the current economic situation,  “The best time to imagine the future…and explore potential are times like this.”