Rupp Arena — Attraction in Lexington

Rude, Rude, Rude! I Will Not Attend Another Event at Rupp!

My husband and I drove three hours to meet up with my daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons to attend Disney On Ice at Rupp Arena on 4/5/25. While the show itself was magnificent, the experience with the venue staff left us feeling angry and disappointed.

We were seated just a few rows up from the floor with our 2-year-old grandson and 3-month-old grandson. After the show, we chose to stay seated a few moments to let the crowd thin out while my daughter was trying to get the baby secured in the carrier, and we were collecting our things. That’s when a worker came up and rudely said, “We need to get up through here and clean. We have another show tomorrow.” When we asked for just a minute, she shooed us with her hands and said something like, “Yeah, we need you to go on!”

It was completely unnecessary and disrespectful, especially with small children in tow. She wasn’t carrying anything and didn’t appear to be doing urgent cleanup, just scanning the area. We made eye contact and she knew she was being rude. I reported the incident to someone who said they were a supervisor, and as luck would have it, the same staff member walked by while I was speaking. I doubt anything will be done, which is why I’m leaving this review.

To make matters worse, a severe storm hit as the event ended. We were trying to exit toward the parking lot we paid to use (across the street), and were told we couldn’t use the closest door unless we were waiting to be picked up. Staff instructed us to walk around to the front, which in turn would have had us walking further in the pouring rain with two small children. Again, staff were pushy and showed no concern or flexibility.

And the parking lot situation? A disaster. It took nearly an hour to get out because no one was directing traffic. Vehicles weren’t alternating to let people out safely, and cars on the main road weren’t slowing down. It was dangerous, especially crossing on foot in the rain with young children. No overpass. No one helping people cross. And this was a children’s event—they knew there would be many families and little ones trying to get across those busy streets.

Rupp, you have got to do better. Your staff need training in basic courtesy, and your crowd and traffic management need serious work. The show was magical. The rest of the experience was...

My wife and I went to the Dave Chappelle show on 9/12/23. With the understanding that the venue was likely sold out, it was still no where near sufficiently staffed. Upon entering the building, there was a disorderly crowd of people with no established line. Everyone was funneled into a pie-shaped entrance that was staffed with only 2 people who were clearly stressed out. After waiting for 30 legitimate minutes to reach the front of the line, we were told this was the line to enter the first level seating only, and we must get back in line upstairs. There was no one announcing this when we entered the building and no one available to ask prior to getting to the front of the line. So, up the stairs we went to an equally large and unorganized crowd being wrangled by several members of staff scanning tickets. Another 30minutes go by- now 1hr in. Another 15min were spent getting our phones locked in a bag- also understandable considering the contents of the show will likely be turned into a Netflix special. However, it would have made more sense if the staff handling the phones would have each been assigned to a person scanning tickets for a more efficient process/experience. After finally making our way in, we headed to the concession stand, which at least had lines, but were no more efficient. There are typically food runners assigned to the cashier taking the order to save time and get customers into their seats to watch the show on time. Each cashier took the order, handled the food, as well as the payment. Another 40min gone by.

The show started at 730. We walked into the venue at 715. Chappelle had 3 openers each doing approximately 30min sets. By the time we got through all of this chaos, we missed all 3 openers and found our seats just in time for the dj who was hyping up Dave's set. Fortunately, we did get to enjoy the entirety of Dave's set, which was amazing btw. But it was certainly dissapointing to drive 3 hours round-trip from Louisville, to stand in lines for another 2 hours, only to watch a 1 hour set. If nothing else, what I have gained is a much greater appreciation for the YUM center and how well staffed and organized they are- I unknowingly took it for granted for years. I have seen countless shows there and typically spend 30min entering the venue, getting scanned in, visiting the concession stand, and getting...

Clear or wallet size purse restrictions were not mentioned ANYWHERE on tickets. Guess we should all start looking up venues policy before walking several blocks to the place. Apparently you could check your purse at the hotel next door, but what a pain?! Don't worry if you have diaper bag, that's approved. Everyone walking through metal detectors after the first area purse/bag check, was setting off the alarms but hateful security guards tell you abruptly to keep moving on. Totally pointless, annoying, and dangerous security procedures seem to be your first risk at Rupp Arena.

After that, expect to be in Covid-19 breeding ground. If you are at risk, stay home!!!! If you have children who are more at risk or not vaccinated, keep them home!! With Omicron this pandemic is likely to get bad again during the winter. I know this topic unfortunately gets into political debate, but these are simply my suggestions after seeing how Rupp handled their show, and as a person who trusts scientific data, numbers, and statistics.

Rupp has very little in place to reduce the risk of contracting Covid-19. Social distancing is non existent and seating is jam packed. If they have extra air filter or ventilation systems, they're not easily seen, doubt they do. Masks are required by the staff, but only suggested to the general public. They didn't require any sort of vaccination proof to be in attendance. There were maybe a dozen attendees wearing masks that I saw. Yet in Kentucky only around half (52.4% at time of writing this) of our population is fully vaccinated.

There were no extra cleaning or sanitizing protocols seen in restrooms, at concessions, or in arena. Shame on my hometowns big venue. Does Rupp care about people, like the precious yellow coat elders working for them, or do they care about making money?

That answer can be seen in the writing on the wall, but please if you're suceptible to viral or bacterial illness of any kind, take my word for it over going to read...