The University of Kentucky has retained IMG/International Stadia Group to negotiate financing and sponsorships for a new on-campus ballpark and renovated football stadium, as well as a downtown arena.

IMG/ISG has maintained that private financing could be used to renovate Commonwealth Stadium and build a new ballpark as well as a downtown arena. Before that theory could be put into practice, the school needed to put the issue to bid. Surprise: IMG/ISG met the criteria of the bid, though at the outset three firms expressed interest in putting together deals.

In any case, it's a no-risk situation for the University of Kentucky. Commonwealth Stadium opened in 1973 and has a capacity of 67,606, but it lacks the high-end amenities that attract big bucks on college game days. Shively Field at Cliff Hagan Stadium dates back only to 2002 and cost $4.2 million when it opened, but we're in the midst of an arms race in college baseball: last season LSU and South Carolina raised the bar with new facilities that many believe will directly translate into better recruiting (though, in LSU's case, it's hard to see how things could get better). If anything, Shively Field at Cliff Hagan Stadium is on the smallish side: it has only 2,000 chair-back seats and two suites, with a total capacity of 3,000 with everyone elbow to elbow. And it would be surprising if a new downtown arena didn't happen: the Wildcats can sell every seat on the market and city leaders want it. The groundwork for a new arena has been laid for the last two years, so locals won't be surprised when some city dollars are devoted to the project, even though the goal is to use private financing for as much of the project as possible.