Cats Thrive in Renovated Historic Memorial Coliseum
The Kentucky volleyball team earned its first victory of the 2024 season by beating Northern Kentucky three sets to none on Friday night. While the Cats earning their first win of the season was important, it was not the storyline of the evening.
Taking center stage on this night was the renovated Historic Memorial Coliseum. Friday night was the first time that the arena had been open to the public since an exhibition volleyball match in March of 2023. Since that time, the interior of the arena has seen significant changes as part of an $82 million renovation project.
The reviews of the new arena were, in a word, glowing. Setter Emma Grome, who played in Memorial before the renovations, was ecstatic about the team’s new home.
“It was awesome. That place is seriously so cool,” Grome said. “It’s better than we could have ever imagined. Just to be a part of that and to be the first team that gets to play in this new Historic Memorial Coliseum is so awesome.”
Among the many new features that were unveiled on Friday were a center-hung scoreboard/video board, a new club space in one end zone and new championship banners in the other, new blue chairback and bleacher seats and more, including, for the first time, air conditioning. While some of the project remains to be completed, the participants on Friday loved how the venerable arena looked.
Senior libero Eleanor Beavin enjoyed the new look of the home of Kentucky volleyball.
“I think the visuals are really cool to play in,” Beavin said. “Just seeing all of the blue makes it aesthetically pleasing and it just makes playing easier. I was really happy with the turnout and the attendance tonight. Felt really loved out there.”
UK head coach Craig Skinner again expressed his gratitude to the UK administration for undertaking the renovation of Memorial Coliseum.
“What a very cool night to re-open Memorial,” Skinner said. “I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity for our players to play in a venue like this, the way it has been constructed and remodeled. Just a special chance for us tonight. The feel is way different.”
The Cats were hoping that the renovation would be all that they hoped it would be. Beavin said that it was hard to set expectations, but she was very happy with the results.
“I think it was really hard to set expectations because the last game we played in there was against Athletes Unlimited and that felt like so long ago,” Beavin said. “It was like a year and a half (ago) but it felt way long, so it was hard to set expectations. The first time that we were all setting foot on the court, we had no words. I think the expectations were higher but I didn’t really know what to expect because it wasn’t done for so long. But when they got it all together, it was so cool.”
The Cats enjoyed their first experience in the renovated Memorial Coliseum. They look forward to making more memories, and having more success, in their “new” home.
