The Univ. of Louisville BOT has voted to "rename the Yum! Center practice facility," which opened in '07. According to the recommendation to the board, Yum! Brands "requested to exit its naming-rights agreement for the practice facility at the end of the year." It is also "gifting $625,000 to end the commitment" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 12/14).
GOING AS PLANNED: Syracuse AD John Wildhack said the Carrier Dome renovation is "right on schedule" for its fall '20 completion. Wildhack: "A lot of nuts and bolts are being done. We're right on track." United Technologies has plans to break up and make Carrier Corp. an independent company. Asked if the news changes anything with the naming-rights agreement, Wildhack said, "I don't know. At this point we're so focused on the project, making sure we're ready to go on time, the permitting process, we're not spending a lot of time on that" (SYRACUSE.com, 12/11).
ON THE JOB: Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture and DLR Group have been picked to design a new $75M Triple-A ballpark in Wichita. JE Dunn Construction and Eby Construction were tapped to build the venue. The Triple-A PCL New Orleans Baby Cakes will relocate to Wichita in '20. The new 10,000-seat, city-owned ballpark will replace the existing Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. It will also be next to a new National Baseball Congress HOF. Construction will start in early '19. It is being funded via state of Kansas bonds and a local tax increment financing district. The city of Wichita also hopes to see a mixed-use entertainment district development grow next to the ballpark, which sits on the Arkansas River. SJCF and Eby are both based in Wichita (Mike Sunnucks, THE DAILY).
