By Lorie Hailey
Associate Editor
University of Kentucky administrator Frank Butler will be project manager for the Rupp Arena, Arts and Entertainment District, leading the effort into phase two, which will develop a detailed design and a financing plan, reports the Lexington Herald Leader.
In a statement Thursday announcing the appointment, UK President Eli Capilouto said it was important for the university and city to work together to make the entertainment district a reality.
Gov. Steve Beshear, who called the district one of the state’s top economic development projects, and legislators included $2.5 million in the state’s upcoming two-year budget for initial work. A 100 percent local match is required.
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The bonds issued to build the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville are now classified as “junk” status by Moody’s Investors Service, meaning the rating agency thinks the bonds are particularly risky investments, the Louisville Courier Journal reports.
The move leaves the project’s leading rating firms at odds with each other. Standard & Poor’s in January upgraded its outlook for debt at the arena, home to the University of Louisville’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, the paper reports.
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Four companies considering Louisville for expansions or new locations were preliminarily approved for economic development incentives at this morning’s meeting of the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in Frankfort, Ky. The projects could create 300 new jobs, $12 million in new annual payroll and $32.3 million in new investment.
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Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is adding 17 flights a week to Newark, N.J., and Houston beginning today – the most new flights added at one time in at least two years, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Thursday’s announcement by United Airlines comes amid a years-long downsizing of airport operations that business and community leaders warn is hurting the region’s ability to attract and keep major companies and jobs, the paper reports.
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Chrysler says its U.S. sales in May rose 30 percent to more than 150,000 vehicles and that it saw sales gains for all its brands, USA TODAY reports.
It marked a 12th consecutive month of sales gains of more than 20 percent for the company, which has gained about two percentage points in U.S. market share to nearly 11 percent.
All the company’s brands — Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Fiat posted year-over-year gains in May.
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