Louisville needs/deserves and NBA team

May 31, 2026
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He can't, he relies on someone else telling him what to do.
Fried Rice Cooking GIF by Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger)
 
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TeamAmerica

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Jul 3, 2025
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This is something I’m guessing a lot of young people don’t realize.

Louisville used to be considered roughly on par with cities like Indy and Nashville in stature and importance. But then those cities elevated themselves to “major” status, as Louisville remained stagnated …seemingly content to forever be known as the nation’s biggest “minor” city.
Big difference I see that changed that is both those Cities are State Capitals. We going to throw a bunch of money at Frankfort?
 

JohnDromo11

Junior
Nov 12, 2019
376
238
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Won't happen. Local leaders got caught up in UofL hype by Pitino and Jurich who are great salesmen. They somehow convinced a city to make a college team THE show as out of state cities nearby eventually grew and cities in KY stagnated. And then UofL basketball decided to fall off the map for several years. BRILLANT!

It would work here. We're starved for sports and unless you're into constant outdoor activities and attending small town festivals no one has ever heard of all the time, there ain't too much going on in KY. I wouldn't look to this board for answers though. Posters will join NBA threads to make sure you know they don't care about the NBA. Others want Louisville to only feature minor league sports and seem happy that massive city and economic growth is happening in nearby states. Again, BRILLANT!

Although they lost last night, watch last year's run and this year's by OKC and how much fun their fans were having in that arena and city and try to convince me that wouldn't work here and we wouldn't be losing our minds if our team was making a run in late May and millions around the country were watching those games. It would work but this state has and wants to keep a small-minded mentality. It gets nervous and uptight with change and seems joyful that other cities around them have pro teams and are growing.
So much misinformation..

The Arena Authority BEGGED UofL to play downtown. Jurich wanted to build an on campus arena and had the backing to do it. Of course he was going to negotiate the best deal possible for the University.
 
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howitis_rivals115807

All-Conference
Aug 28, 2001
4,851
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Louisville is tiny, My first thought is how would this possibly work, but then again Memphis exists and as long as that city has a team everyone has an argument to have one. No one could be worse than Memphis.
 

Glenn's Take

Heisman
May 20, 2012
12,762
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So much misinformation..

The Arena Authority BEGGED UofL to play downtown. Jurich wanted to build an on campus arena and had the backing to do it. Of course he was going to negotiate the best deal possible for the University.
The Arena Authority was U of L so the whole thing was a show. Amazing the kind of good deal you can get when you are negotiating with yourself with taxpayers money.
 

CameronCat22

Sophomore
Apr 12, 2026
172
145
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So much misinformation..

The Arena Authority BEGGED UofL to play downtown. Jurich wanted to build an on campus arena and had the backing to do it. Of course he was going to negotiate the best deal possible for the University.
Look at the L1C4 clowns still celebrating Colorado grifter Tom Jurich hurting our city. It only made sense to have it downtown and it should have been at the water company cite on 2nd street where it was cheaper and a 3 minute walk to 4th Street live which the city had put millions into. Why the hell would the city spend money to build an arena at the fairgrounds when there’s nothing else there and downtown revitalization and attracting businesses and young professionals was the point? Tom Jurich is trash and will always be an enemy to the city of Louisville.
 

yoshukai

Heisman
Dec 21, 2002
29,934
42,497
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You can’t tell me Louisville wouldn’t be a much better spot for a pro sports team, especially basketball, than so many other cities that currently have one.

Here’s my question. Could you root for an nba team that set up shop in Louisville? Would you consider them our “home team”?
I’m old enough to remember when UK and UL fans were united in rooting for the Kentucky Colonels .
 

Smeegs

All-Conference
Nov 19, 2025
894
2,557
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Louisville is tiny, My first thought is how would this possibly work, but then again Memphis exists and as long as that city has a team everyone has an argument to have one. No one could be worse than
False. The Louisville metro area is about the same size as cities like Milwaukee and Oklahoma City, and it is clearly a BIGGER market than that of cities like New Orleans, Salt Lake City, Buffalo, Memphis and Green Bay …all of which are home to big league franchises.

Louisville is big enough to have a team. It just has never been able to get one.

 

Ukdaddy98

Sophomore
Jan 15, 2026
68
159
33
I never thought it would work that great in Louisville. Just never saw this as a major league town in any sport in the modern times. I’m 50 and have lived in the Louisville area for about 35 of those years.
Whatever shot it had did sail bc Jurich and his hold on the city. Then Rick’s ego couldn’t stomach being second fiddle in the early 2000s as he was trying to build his rebrand as a college coach.
The city had a real shot but blew it.

Now the closest thing it will ever have is minor league soccer, baseball and football.
 
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BC_Wader

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Aug 13, 2021
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False. The Louisville metro area is about the same size as cities like Milwaukee and Oklahoma City, and it is clearly a BIGGER market than that of cities like New Orleans, Salt Lake City, Buffalo, Memphis and Green Bay …all of which are home to big league franchises.

Louisville is big enough to have a team. It just has never been able to get one.

True but a lot of Louisville branches out into the suburbs due to the fact years ago they expanded the boundary. The heart of the city is rather small compared to those cities. We could still support an NBA team I feel.
 
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JohnDromo11

Junior
Nov 12, 2019
376
238
43
Look at the L1C4 clowns still celebrating Colorado grifter Tom Jurich hurting our city. It only made sense to have it downtown and it should have been at the water company cite on 2nd street where it was cheaper and a 3 minute walk to 4th Street live which the city had put millions into. Why the hell would the city spend money to build an arena at the fairgrounds when there’s nothing else there and downtown revitalization and attracting businesses and young professionals was the point? Tom Jurich is trash and will always be an enemy to the city of Louisville.
Funny. There literally is a street named after him
on campus. And you didn’t address the fact that he wanted the arena on campus, exclusively for UofL.

He had nothing to do with the current location. That was the Arena Authority’s decision.
 

CameronCat22

Sophomore
Apr 12, 2026
172
145
43
Funny. There literally is a street named after him
on campus. And you didn’t address the fact that he wanted the arena on campus, exclusively for UofL.

He had nothing to do with the current location. That was the Arena Authority’s decision.
The arena authority was UL. What a joke you are, no one can be honest these days and just lie about everything.
  • Jerry Abramson – Mayor of Louisville Metro
  • Ron Carmicle – *Close Pitino friend, was with him at Porchinis
  • Larry Clark – State rep
  • Kelly Downard – Councilwoman
  • John Hindman – UPS
  • Alice Houston – *UL BOT
  • David Jones – *UL BOT
  • Tom Jurich – *UL AD
  • Mitch McConnell – *UL alum who pulled strings to get then into the ACC
  • Cissy Musselman – *UL BOT
  • Anne Northup – U.S. Representative
  • Jim Patterson – Major UL donor, UL names their baseball stadium after him
  • James Ramsey – University of Louisville President
  • Eddy Roberts – *UL BOT
  • Bill Samuels – President *UL BOT
 

JohnDromo11

Junior
Nov 12, 2019
376
238
43
The arena authority was UL. What a joke you are, no one can be honest these days and just lie about everything.
  • Jerry Abramson – Mayor of Louisville Metro
  • Ron Carmicle – *Close Pitino friend, was with him at Porchinis
  • Larry Clark – State rep
  • Kelly Downard – Councilwoman
  • John Hindman – UPS
  • Alice Houston – *UL BOT
  • David Jones – *UL BOT
  • Tom Jurich – *UL AD
  • Mitch McConnell – *UL alum who pulled strings to get then into the ACC
  • Cissy Musselman – *UL BOT
  • Anne Northup – U.S. Representative
  • Jim Patterson – Major UL donor, UL names their baseball stadium after him
  • James Ramsey – University of Louisville President
  • Eddy Roberts – *UL BOT
  • Bill Samuels – President *UL BOT
You had five from the BOT on the Arena Authority. Hardly a quorum. Besides, Jurich wanted the damn thing on campus.

Kelly Downard is a man, by the way.
 

JohnDromo11

Junior
Nov 12, 2019
376
238
43
The arena authority was UL. What a joke you are, no one can be honest these days and just lie about everything.
  • Jerry Abramson – Mayor of Louisville Metro
  • Ron Carmicle – *Close Pitino friend, was with him at Porchinis
  • Larry Clark – State rep
  • Kelly Downard – Councilwoman
  • John Hindman – UPS
  • Alice Houston – *UL BOT
  • David Jones – *UL BOT
  • Tom Jurich – *UL AD
  • Mitch McConnell – *UL alum who pulled strings to get then into the ACC
  • Cissy Musselman – *UL BOT
  • Anne Northup – U.S. Representative
  • Jim Patterson – Major UL donor, UL names their baseball stadium after him
  • James Ramsey – University of Louisville President
  • Eddy Roberts – *UL BOT
  • Bill Samuels – President *UL BOT
Jurich, Abramson, Samuels, McConnell, Northup, Hindman, Downard, Bond, and Carmicle were not on the original Arena Authority Board. 10 of the 15 were appointed by former Gov. Ernie Fletcher (UK Grad).
 
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JonathanW2

Senior
Aug 6, 2025
593
894
93
Other sports? No. Combine Louisville just not big enough with Cincinnati being just an hour away and having long standing baseball and football teams.
But basketball? Yes. Sure Indy is only a couple of hours away. But there are only 3 sports where basketball might be the most popular sport (KY, IN, NC, & KS). It would probably go a long way (ticket sales) if it were the "Kentucky ____" rather than the "Louisville ____".

Kentucky Cards or Cardinals? Probably not, could be confusing to some.
Kentucky Colonels? Few who remember them are still around, and kind of a boring name, and spelling not match pronounciation.
Kentucky Sluggers? Paying respect to Kentucky's own Louisville Slugger brand. Ron Artest could be the coach! Mmm...maybe not that name either.
Kentucky Bourbons? Leaves room for advertising for lots of different brands. Maker's Mark Arena, Knob Creek Court, Woodford Reserve benches, Four Roses luxury sweets, ect... But maybe not a "kid-friendly" name.
Kentucky Thoroughbreds? I kind of like that one. Says we play fast.
Anyone got some other names?
 

Inlumine

Senior
Apr 6, 2017
357
513
61
I don’t know if Louisville alone is a big enough market for an NBA team, although I certainly think the Louisville-Lexington-Northern Kentucky metroplex is. The question is if the NBA put a team in one of those areas whether it could draw from the other two. I could see Northern Kentucky because it draws from Cincinnati but if it doesn’t draw Louisville or Lexington either I don’t know how attractive it is for an expansion market (Reds are bottom 5 and Bengals are dead last in franchise valuations). I think Louisville would probably be the best bet, given NBA loves NBA-only markets (like Portland, OKC, SLC until recently with the NHL, etc.) but it would need to be called the Kentucky whatevers and would need to really involve NKY and Lexington (maybe play some regular season games there).
 

TeamAmerica

All-American
Jul 3, 2025
1,455
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Jurich, Abramson, Samuels, McConnell, Northup, Hindman, Downard, Bond, and Carmicle were not on the original Arena Authority Board. 10 of the 15 were appointed by former Gov. Ernie Fletcher (UK Grad).
Wasn't Jim Host the original Chairman of the Board when it was being built?
 

CameronCat22

Sophomore
Apr 12, 2026
172
145
43
I don’t know if Louisville alone is a big enough market for an NBA team, although I certainly think the Louisville-Lexington-Northern Kentucky metroplex is. The question is if the NBA put a team in one of those areas whether it could draw from the other two. I could see Northern Kentucky because it draws from Cincinnati but if it doesn’t draw Louisville or Lexington either I don’t know how attractive it is for an expansion market (Reds are bottom 5 and Bengals are dead last in franchise valuations). I think Louisville would probably be the best bet, given NBA loves NBA-only markets (like Portland, OKC, SLC until recently with the NHL, etc.) but it would need to be called the Kentucky whatevers and would need to really involve NKY and Lexington (maybe play some regular season games there).
Right, just like the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals that most Kentuckians support. I don’t care what’s it’s called but Louisville shouldn’t try to appease simple minded haters in this azz backwards state.
 
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howitis_rivals115807

All-Conference
Aug 28, 2001
4,851
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False. The Louisville metro area is about the same size as cities like Milwaukee and Oklahoma City, and it is clearly a BIGGER market than that of cities like New Orleans, Salt Lake City, Buffalo, Memphis and Green Bay …all of which are home to big league franchises.

Louisville is big enough to have a team. It just has never been able to get one.

Okc makes no sense to have a team either but it worked. Milwaukee has had theirs forever. They wouldn't get it now. My point being that there are like 15 cities that are bigger and make more sense than Louisville. It's tiny, even smaller than okc
 
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