The Joe Craft Center, opened in January 2007, is a
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
practice facility and athletics office building attached to
Memorial Coliseum on
the "Avenue of Champions" at the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...
in
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
.
The facility is named after businessman and philanthropist
Joe Craft
Joseph Craft III (born 1950) is an American businessman. He is the president and chief executive officer of Alliance Resource Partners, L.P., the third-largest coal producer in the eastern United States.
Personal life
Craft received an underg ...
, a
Hazard, Kentucky
Hazard is a home rule-class city in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,263 at the 2020 census.
History
Local landowner Elijah Combs Sr. laid out the town in 1824 as the planned seat of the ...
native, who pledged $6 million towards the completion of the $30 million project.
Features
The 102,000 ft
2 (9,480 m
2) structure contains separate practice courts for the
men's and
women's basketball programs, as well as support spaces for both programs, including coaches' offices.
["Basketball Practice Facility." 2005 February 2005. University of Kentucky. 14 Dec. 2006 .] It also includes a ticket office, athletic administration offices, and the renovation of 17,500 ft
2 (1,630 m
2) of space in Memorial Coliseum to support requirements from the volleyball, gymnastics, and other sports teams. The Joe Craft Center features several state-of-the-art video rooms for game film viewing, separate men's and women's locker rooms, and new coaches' offices.
History
Construction began in August 2005 on the north side of the Coliseum. The $30 million structure was completed on January 11, 2007.
["Kernel Editorial: Practice facility will benefit all of UK's athletic teams." Kentucky Kernel exingtonJanuary 16, 2007. February 28, 2007. "] As a result,
Memorial Coliseum has more ample space for volleyball and gymnastics practice and games.
See also
*
Buildings at the University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK) in Lexington, Kentucky is home to many notable structures, including one high-rise.
By floor count and height above ground level, the tallest building is the 18-floor Patterson Office Tower, consisting mostly o ...
*
Cityscape of Lexington, Kentucky
The urban development patterns of Lexington, Kentucky, confined within an urban growth boundary protecting its famed horse farms, include greenbelts and expanses of land between it and the surrounding towns. This has been done to preserve the r ...
References
External links
UK Athletics Receives Record Gift for Practice Facility, UKAthletics.comJoe Craft Center at UK campus guide
{{Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball navbox
Kentucky Wildcats basketball
Buildings at the University of Kentucky
College basketball practice facilities in the United States
2007 establishments in Kentucky
Basketball venues in Kentucky