Yum! Center eases total firearms ban

Sheldon S. Shafer | Louisville Courier Journal

The Louisville Arena Authority ended its total ban on firearms and agreed Monday to give promoters and booking agents of events at the KFC Yum! Center the right to decide whether ticketed visitors can carry firearms into the downtown arena.

The policy is in line with the passage of a state law that prohibits public or quasi-public agencies from restricting weapons on persons entering the venues if they have a weapons permit. Most other Kentucky public agencies have in recent months adopted similar policies.

Arena spokeswoman Deanna Southerling said promoters who decide to ban weapons will have signs stating the restriction at stadium entrances. She said promoters are not considered public agents and are believed by the authority to be exempt from the state requirements that apply to public agencies.

University of Louisville Athletics Department spokesman Kenny Klein said Monday that UofL will continue to ban firearms in the arena during all UofL events. He noted that UofL has a policy of banning weapons at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium as well as on its Belknap Campus.

The arena authority governs the Yum! Center and contracts with AEG Facilities to manage the stadium. AEG issued the following statement at an authority board meeting on behalf of the authority.

" The arena intends to adhere to all federal, state and local regulations....AEG Facilities, which manages all operational aspects of the KFC Yum! Center’s business on behalf of the Louisville Arena Authority, will allow each event promoter or tour management company who leases the building for an event to determine the venue’s firearms policy on a show-by-show basis."

The authority has not defined what constitutes a firearm or weapon. Southerling said the arena does not plan to install screening devices at entryways.

A group called the Kentucky Concealed Carry Coalition had sparked the debate about weapons at the downtown arena. Organization vice president Stephen McBride said in a statement that he believed state law prohibits any public agency from prohibiting firearms. He told the arena authority previously that its total ban constituted a violation of state law.

The coalition maintains the Louisville Arena Authority is not a city government and is not allowed to pass ordinances to change the law. McBride said the concealed carry group has sued 13 city and county agencies around the state and has challenged dozens of venues.

McBride said UofL is covered by another statute that allows colleges and universities to ban firearms in any spaces they operate or occupy.

On another matter at the authority meeting, Larry Hayes, the authority board chairman, announced that he is resigning. Hayes is Gov. Steve Beshear's commerce secretary.

Arena General Manager Dennis Petrulo said the governor names the authority board chairman. Hayes noted that he also serves on the University of Louisville Board of Trustees and might have a conflict since UofL is an arena tenant.

William Summers V is authority board co-chairman.

The authority board also approved a five-year contract extension with AEG Facilities to manage the arena. The management deal now runs until 2027. It calls for AEG to set aside money for arena upgrades. The authority put AEG in charge of the arena after dropping the Kentucky State Fair Board as the arena manager in 2012.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089, or via email at sshafeer@courier-journal.com.