Louisville Success Story

The city of Louisville, Ky., can breathe a little easier knowing taxpayers won’t be on the hook for an extra $3.3 million dollars in costs to pay for the KFC Yum! Center that opened last fall.

In the leadup to the 22,000-capacity Yum! Center’s debut, officials for the arena authority that oversees the venue worried that projected revenues from sales taxes were coming up short and the city would have to find other ways to cover costs.

But it appears the venue and the arena authority are faring well. So well, in fact, that the arena authority recently announced during a meeting that it will refund the city $3.2 million this year, according to Louisville Business Journal, based on sponsorships and other revenues.

“We are thrilled with how well the arena has been received,” GM Ted Nicholson told Pollstar. “We have not only exceeded our expectations but ticket sales continue to exceed concert promoters expectations.”

The venue has hosted a number of sellouts this year and upcoming dates on the books include Martin Lawrence, Michael Bublé and Taylor Swift.