Home » Churchill Downs to invest $37M in adding more than 1,800 seats

Churchill Downs to invest $37M in adding more than 1,800 seats

Includes luxury suites

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 18, 2016) — Churchill Downs Racetrack will invest $37 million in renovations to add more than 1,800 new seats for the 2018 Kentucky Derby through the addition of new luxury suites, interior dining tables and third-floor Grandstand seats.

thumbnail_View From TrackThe Starting Gate Suites capital project will encompass 77,250 square feet of new space on the north end of Churchill Downs Racetrack’s 147-acre facility. The structure, which will feature three floors of individual suites along with dining and event space, will be erected adjacent to the Jockey Club Suites, which opened in 2003.

The new luxury suites, which will feature indoor lounge seating with a bar and a private tiered balcony that overlooks the start of the Kentucky Derby at the top of the homestretch, will host 1,140 ticketed guests. Up to new 36 individual suites will be able to accommodate groups of various sizes.

Churchill Downs has 97 existing permanent suites. Each of the three levels in the new Starting Gate Suites will feature event space with 24 eight-top tables for interior dining for a total of 576 seats. The project also will include the construction of 110 new third-floor Grandstand seats.

Foundation work on the construction of the Starting Gates Suites will begin in January 2017.