Need-to-Know: Lexington for the Sweet Sixteen
By: Morgan Turner & Hanna Chancellor
The Owensboro High School Boys Basketball team is headed back to Rupp Arena for the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2019! For those of you who are not familiar with Lexington, here are some tips on food options, parking, etc. to help make your trip to the game a little smoother.
Local Restaurants
Everybody’s gotta eat right?? Here are some great options if you want something you can’t find in Owensboro:
- Pies and Pints (pizza)
- Blue Door Smokehouse (BBQ)
- The Local Taco (Mexican)
- KSBar and Grill (pregame hangout for OHS)
- Cookout (drive thru BBQ, burgers and 40+ milkshakes)
- Goodfellas Pizzeria (pizza)
Parking
There are more than 10,000 convenient parking spaces available within a 10-minute walk of Rupp Arena. If you are planning to park in Rupp’s parking lots, note that they DO NOT take cash. They only accept payments from credit cards (American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa) and mobile payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay). There are also some good options if you don’t plan to park on Rupp soil:
- Victorian Square Garage, 350 West Short Street; prices from $20-25; 0.2 miles away from Rupp (VIP parking is available for Victorian Square, but is ranged to be around 44$)
- Transit Center Garage, 150 E. Vine Street; prices around $6; 0.4 miles away
- The Helix Garage, 150-160 E. Main Street; prices around $6; 0.5 miles away
- The Courthouse Garage, 105 Barr Street; prices around $3; 0.5 miles away
Arena Policies
Each guest is allowed (1) clear tote bag or small purse. Signs are allowed (if they do not exceed 24”x24”). No cash will be accepted (same rules apply inside the arena as they do for parking). Each person will walk through a metal detector upon arrival. Prohibited items include: weapons, illegal substances, outside food and drink, beach balls, hoverboards, baby seats, video/audio recorders, cameras with detachable lenses, frisbees, mace, and flasks.
Concessions
Rupp Arena has (4) main concession stands throughout the arena. They sell soft drinks, soft pretzels, nachos, popcorn, and more. But there are also many other options as well: Hunt Brothers Pizza, Skyline Chilli, Kroger Korner, Chick-Fil-A, City BBQ, Snack Attack, and Taylor Bells Soft Serve Ice Cream. Take it from me…you need this ice cream!
