As workers apply the final touches to Louisville's new downtown arena, plans are being made for several events related to its grand opening in just under two months.A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on October 10. The arena doors will be opened for free public tours on October 19 and 20th."People can go on line at Ticketmaster, said Arena Authority Chairman Jim Host. "We're going to take 10,000 per day. They're free tickets, there's no Ticketmaster fee, but people have to have tickets.There will also be a $100 per ticket gala for three thousand people featuring the Louisville Orchestra.Host says the facility remains under budget, with just under $1 million remaining in a contingency fund for unexpected expenses."For example, somebody inadvertantly punches a hole in a wall, while we were finishing. Cleaning that is done, and we go through an inspect it and determine cleaning isn't as good as we want. There's all kind of things will eat up the balance of the money, but we won't have to go ask anybody for money to finish," he said.The arena will be the new home of the University of Louisville basketball teams.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.