 A "Topping Off" ceremony was held in June for The Bank of Kentucky Center, located at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky. The event, which celebrated the final (or highest) beam being placed into the roof of the facility, marking an important milestone towards completion of the project was attended by Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher, Northern Kentucky University President James Votruba, as well as a host of lawmakers, local leaders and university officials.
Attendees signed the beam before its installation of the final steel beam on the $60 million arena. After the signatures were added to the beam, the beam was adorned with The Bank of Kentucky Banner, the American Flag, the Kentucky State Flag, and the official flag of Northern Kentucky. On one end of the beam was an evergreen tree, which was in keeping with an old construction tradition of placing a tree on the beam during the Topping Off ceremony to symbolize that the highest pinnacle of the project had been completed.
This 9,400- to 11,000-seat,SMG-managed venue is scheduled to open in September 2008. "This marks a great step in the progress of the facility and we are eager to move forward", said Les Crooks, General Manager of The Bank of Kentucky Center. "We are very excited about the future that this facility will have to offer."
 Located five minutes from downtown Cincinnati, The Bank of Kentucky Center will seat 10,000 for concerts/touring events and 9,400 for basketball. The venue, which is expected to become a leading event venue in the Greater Cincinnati marketplace, also features12 suites and two party suites, six dressing/locker rooms and over 3000 amps of show power. There will be wireless access throughout the facility and four "smart" conference rooms.
|
