Freedom Hall

Freedom Hall has a long history as an outstanding basketball venue dating back to 1958 when it served as the site of the NCAA Men's Final 4. It would go on to host the Final 4 five more times (1959, 1962, 1963, 1967 and 1969) as well as NCAA Midwest Regional games in 1976 and 1983 and Southeast Regional games in 1987 and 1991. The University of Louisville basketball team called Freedom Hall home for 54 seasons before moving to the KFC Yum! Center following the 2010 season. In addition to college basketball, Freedom Hall has served as a site of the state high school basketball tournament, all-star contests and was the home to the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association (ABA).

Home to many other athletic events, Freedom Hall also is the site of Muhammad Ali's first professional fight, a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker in 1960.

Freedom Hall was completed in 1956 in the newly opened Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center located 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Downtown Louisville. It received its name as the result of a statewide essay contest sponsored by the State Fair Board and the American Legion. Charlotte Owens, a senior at DuPont Manual High School, submitted the winning entry over 6,500 others. Designed for the nation's premier equestrian competition, the Kentucky State Fair World's Championship Horse Show, the floor length and permanent seating were designed specifically for the almost 300-foot (91 m)-long show ring (in comparison, a regulation hockey rink is 200 feet (61 m) long, and a basketball court is only 94 feet).