By Nick Gray

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Lexington major Jim Gray announced Wednesday that the Rupp Arena renovation effort is suspended, citing the unwillingness of the University of Kentucky to commit to a long-term lease totaling $10.7 million per year.

Gray said in a press release that the university sought a smaller project, one that would require “10 or 15 percent” of the original money support that the university initially planned to invest. UK president Eli Capilouto informed Gray and Gov. Steve Beshear of the university’s stance within the last two weeks in separate meetings.

Gray said Wednesday that the project was based on the desires of the university.

“We designed this arena based on what UK said they needed. But I understand timing and pacing are everything, especially with major projects like this. So we’ll adjust and adapt,” he said.

University officials did not have an immediate comment on the report.

Beshear has been publically in favor of the project and remained optimistic on Wednesday.

“I think the original project is still what Lexington and the university need, and in time, I hope UK will be ready to move forward,” Beshear said.

The Lexington Convention Center left its schedule open in 2015 and 2016 for potential renovations and can now move on with a decision.

“Lexington Center needs clarity, needs uncertainty removed, so they can sell conventions and conferences for next year and beyond,” Gray said. “I’ve learned after 850 projects in my construction career, never to fall in love with a project. We need to move on. And when the time is right, the plan is ready.”

NBBJ and EOP, the architecture firms who were set to work on the project, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Lexington Center Corporation, who worked alongside Gray to lead the project, also could not be reached for comment.

The Downtown Lexington Corporation assisted Gray and the Lexington Center Corporation in the early stages of the project and carried optimism similar to Beshear.

“We hope that in the near future UK and Lexington Center Corporation will meet and agree on a suitable renovation plan for Rupp Arena,” DLC president Renee Jackson said. “We don’t believe the announcement today will have a negative impact on downtown Lexington.”

The final designs for the $310 million arena project were released at a news conference Feb. 10, along with a plan to begin financing for renovations. That plan included $65 million in state funds over the next two years for the project, pending state legislative approval in the spring, along with UK’s commitment to a new long-term lease.

But the legislature did not approve the bonds request while finalizing the state budget for the next two years in April, citing the unwillingness for both the public and the university to fully commit to the project.

UK’s position was clear when a letter from Capilouto to Lexington Convention Center officials was made public in May. Capilouto wrote that the university’s interest in the project wilted as the financial plan dried up.

“Because of the lack of enthusiasm for the current plan among various constituencies (including the Kentucky General Assembly), the lack of firmness of the $350 million financing plan, and the approaching expiration date of our lease (following the 2017-18 season), it is important to explore all potential options,” Capilouto wrote to Lexington Center Corporation chairman Brent Rice.

Rice could not be reached for comment on the suspended project on Wednesday afternoon.

Capilouto hinted in the letters that the lease would not be immediately renewed, which he confirmed in separate meetings with Beshear and Gray, according to city’s release.

A renovation would have included a new scoreboard, luxury boxes and a “transparent skin” exterior, according to NBBJ. Other changes included a shift in student seating location and the promise by university officials to discuss a possible student allotment change in the later stages of the project.

But that point never came, and now the 38-year-old arena will continue to stand in the same form as uncertainty with future renovation plans and the university’s lease continues to build.