Truist Arena, formerly The Bank of Kentucky Center and BB&T Arena, is a 9,400-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

Highland Heights, Kentucky Highland Heights is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 6,662 at the 2020 census. Highland Heights is home to Northern Kentucky University and General Cable, a Fortune 500 company whose pre ...

, on the campus of

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky, United States. Established in 1968, it is the youngest of Kentucky's eight public universities. The university has seven constituent colleges in arts and science ...

. The arena was topped off on June 21, 2007, and the first event held there was NKU's graduation ceremony on May 10, 2008. A grand opening ceremony was held on September 22, 2008. The NKU men's and women's basketball teams are the main tenants, but many outside events are booked at the center. Among the first were country music star

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005, returning as a judge beginning with the twenty-third season. Underwood's f ...

, comedian Jeff Dunham, and the cast of the reality television show ''

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'' as well as

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, and the ''

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'' live production. It hosted the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

of the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament in 2012. It was again set to host the Division II 2013 Elite Eight, but the NCAA moved the event to

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as NKU joined Division I (the NCAA would later go further by only holding the Elite Eight and Final Four matchups in Louisville; the Division II championship game was moved to

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with the Division III championship game as part of the celebration of 75 years of the men's Division I tournament, the Final Four of which was held in the

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a Stadium#Types, domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown Atlanta, downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of th ...

). On May 10, 2011, The Bank of Kentucky Center hosted

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live. Other artists/performers that have visited the arena include

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with

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, and

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, and

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among others. The first basketball event at the arena saw the NKU men's and women's basketball teams play

on November 8, 2008. The arena hosted the

KHSAA The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky's List of high schools in Kentucky, high school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington. Sports The o ...

Girls' Sweet Sixteen in high school basketball from 2016 through 2018, after which the event moved to

Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility ...

in Lexington.

Sponsorship

The Bank of Kentucky agreed to cover 10% of the cost of the arena, up to $6 million, in exchange for naming rights. It will also get a luxury suite, access to premium tickets and free use of the facility rent free for one special event each year. In 2015, the name of the arena was changed to the BB&T Arena after

BB&T BB&T Corporation (previously known as the Branch Banking and Trust Company) was one of the largest banking and financial services firms in the United States, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 2019, BB&T announced its intentions to merge ...

Corp. bought out The Bank of Kentucky. In 2020, BB&T merged with

SunTrust SunTrust Banks, Inc. was an American bank holding company with SunTrust Bank as its largest subsidiary and assets of US$199 billion as of March 31, 2018. The bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where it was h ...

, with the merged company renaming itself Truist. However, the arena continued to bear the BB&T name because Truist did not start rebranding its Kentucky locations with the new corporate name until late 2021. The Truist name was adopted for the arena shortly after the 2021–22 basketball season, taking effect on April 5, 2022.

Tenants

Beginning in spring of 2011, Truist Arena was home to the Northern Kentucky River Monsters of the

Ultimate Indoor Football League The Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) was a regional professional indoor football league that began its inaugural season on February 18, 2011 as the Ultimate Indoor Football League before playing as the United Indoor Football League in 2012 ...

. After the season, the River Monsters agreed to part ways with the UIFL. The UIFL still had rights to place a team in the arena, so there will be an expansion team placed there, the Kentucky Monsters. Truist Arena has also played host to the Black-n-Bluegrass Roller Girls since 2012. The home dates for the league in 2012 were: May 19, June 16, July 21, August 18, September 22, and October 20. The

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the college sports, athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats were pr ...

from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

played their home games at what was then BB&T Arena during the 2017–18 season while Fifth Third Arena underwent renovations.

References

External links

*
Concert Calendar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Truist Arena Buildings and structures in Campbell County, Kentucky Indoor arenas in Kentucky College basketball venues in Kentucky Northern Kentucky Norse basketball Cincinnati Bearcats basketball venues Tourist attractions in Campbell County, Kentucky 2008 establishments in Kentucky Sports venues completed in 2008

Sponsorship

Tenants

See also

References

External links