ADDRESS - 2000 Norris Place, Louisville, KY 40205
OPENED - 1960
CAPACITY – 2,283
SPORTS – Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Volleyball, Wrestling
DIRECTIONS –
Map Link
The home venue of the Bellarmine basketball, volleyball and wrestling programs, historic Knights Hall channels a classic feel to create one of the most unique atmospheres in all of collegiate athletics.
Opened in 1960 and located in Louisville’s historic Highlands neighborhood, Knights Hall was dedicated with a men’s basketball game against the University of Louisville early in the 1960-61 season. The venue hosted the men’s and women’s basketball teams until the COVID-19 pandemic forced a move to Freedom Hall at the Kentucky Exposition Center for more space ahead of the 2020-21 season. Both basketball squads returned to the arena for the 2024-25 season.
With a seating capacity of 2,283, Knights Hall provides an intimate feel, including chair-backed seating in the courtside, mezzanine and terrace levels, and a student section in one end zone. The site is set to receive significant upgrades in late 2024 with the return of basketball. Bellarmine will complete facility improvements that include a new entertainment space on the stage, a new center-hung scoreboard capable of showing video and a new scorer’s table with video capability.
Knights Hall features two private rooms: The Rybak Room (formerly known as the President’s Room), a now open-air suite which overlooks the court from the east baseline, and the Knights Lounge, presented by the Knights Athletics Association. For more information on the Knights Lounge, click
here.
The facility underwent substantial renovations in 2012 with the installation of a new playing floor and new seats plus a complete overhaul of the building’s interior lighting, lobby, ceiling, exterior paint and HVAC.
The Bellarmine men’s basketball team won back-to-back NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournaments in 2011 and 2012 at Knights Hall, and then again in 2015 and 2017. On the women’s basketball side, the building hosted the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament in 1986 and 1990, both of which were won by the Knights.
In December 2010, in conjunction with the NCAA’s Division II Fall Sports Championship Festival, Knights Hall played host to the quarterfinal, semifinal and national championship matches of the NCAA Division II Women’s Volleyball Championship. Concordia-St. Paul defeated Tampa in four sets to capture their fourth consecutive volleyball title.
The building received a national audience in 2007, when it hosted the Powerade Jam Fest, a skills competition involving each of that year’s McDonald’s High School All-American Game participants broadcast by ESPN. Oklahoma University signee and eventual NBA All-Star Blake Griffin won the main event, a slam dunk contest featuring judges Bill Walton, Darrell Griffith and Kenny “Sky” Walker.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1982), Salman Rushdie (2005), Bob Woodward (2007) and Wendell Berry (2007) are some of the many special guests who have made speaking appearances in the arena. Popular names from the world of music, including Grateful Dead (1968) and Maroon 5 (2009), have also made tour stops in the building.
The facility hosts Bellarmine’s fall and spring semester commencement ceremonies. It also routinely houses area high school graduations, as well as high school basketball and volleyball games and tournaments.
For ticket information, please visit
BUKnightsTix.com.
