The budget Kenutcky lawmakers approved this week will give $1.5 million to a costly renovation of the University of Kentucky’s Rupp Arena.
The money would be used to finance architects' and engineering fees and other planning costs for the $310 million project.
Republican lawmakers got few answers from Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, who lobbied House and Senate leadership for $65 million for the project during marathon budget talks held in Frankfort over the weekend.
Gray said the project would create thousands of jobs in Lexington, and failing to provide the amount would “drive a stake through the heart of the project.”
Details of the project remain scarce, as Gray and other officials are under a verbal non-disclosure agreement with the university.
