An Athletes' Village would be constructed on or near the University of Louisville Belknap Campus. Existing on-campus housing will be used during the Olympics. The University of Louisville recently added housing for 2,000 students and will open a new student recreation center in 2013.
Various park and ride sites would be setup across Jefferson, Bullitt, Henry, Oldham, Shelby, and Spencer Counties in Kentucky, and Clark and Floyd Counties in Indiana.
Olympic Football (soccer) preliminaries would kick off Wednesday, July 24, 2024, and the Opening Ceremonies would take place Friday, July 26, 2024. The Olympic Closing Ceremonies would take place on Sunday, August 11, 2024. The Paralympic Games Opening Ceremonies would take place on Tuesday, September 3, 2024 and the Paralympics would conclude Sunday, September 15, 2024.
As part of this early proposal, an International Broadcast Centre would be built between Interstate 65, Locust Lane, and Preston Highway across from the Kentucky Exposition Center. The railroad crossing on Bradley Avenue would be reconfigured to allow Bradley Avenue to be used as an entrance exclusively for the media. This location would require relocating a small number of homes and a few businesses. Regardless of the final location, all efforts will be made to displace as few residents and businesses as possible.
As Louisville would be awarded the Olympics in 2017, construction would likely begin in 2019 and be complete in 2023. Depending on what other events Louisville targets for any newly built venues (such as the 2023 Pan Am Games, the 2024 or 2025 BCS Championship Game, Super Bowl XLIIX or XLIX, etc.), construction timelines may vary.
The Kentucky State Fair would continue to be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center, but the schedule may be altered once construction begins on the two new arenas and stadium at the Kentucky Exposition Center. The primary disruption to the State Fair would be the loss of parking and outdoor venue space consumed by the new venues. Since all newly built venues would be "demountable", the space could be reclaimed after 2024 should the arenas or stadium no longer be needed. Alternatively, the new structures could replace Cardinal Stadium and Broadbent Arena. A number of options would also exist for satellite parking, such as nearby Churchill Downs.
We welcome your questions and ideas to make Louisville's bid for 2024 even stronger.
Please note that while our proposal references some new construction, we are not interested in any offers to acquire property at this time.