Nearly everyone who grew up in Louisville has at some point in time stepped foot in Freedom Hall. Whether it be for a Louisville Cardinals basketball game, a high school or college graduation or even to attend a concert, rodeo event, or one of the thousands of other things hosted there, the once start of the art building has developed into a 502 staple. Now after sitting unused since 2010 (at least on a full time basis) Freedom Hall will host the Bellarmine basketball program for the 2020-21 season.
Freedom Hall is clearly no stranger to good basketball. The building served as the former home for the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels, NCAA’s Louisville Cardinals and also hosted multiple NCAA Tournament games including six Final Fours.
We’ve known for a while now that the Knights will temporarily call Freedom Hall their home for the 2020-21 season, but hadn’t officially seen what the home floor will look like. Now thanks to a few tweets from local media and Bellarmine basketball head coach Scotty Davenport, we now have a better look.
Bellarmine Basketball Unveils New Home
The move from historic Knights Hall to Freedom Hall was made to help Bellarmine grow into their new status as a member of Division 1 basketball after moving up from the D2 ranks. Instead of playing at a capacity of 2,200 the Knights will now have room for up to 18,865 fans thanks to the move. In 2021 due to COVID restrictions and mandates by the state, of the 18,865 seats only 2,700 will be allowed to be filled.
Those seats would’ve been filled this week as the Knights were supposed to begin their season against Chattanooga, but were forced to move the game back after dealing with covid issues within the program. They’ll now make their season debut on December 4th on the road against Duke, and will open at Freedom Hall on December 9th against UT Chattanooga.
