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IMG/ISG retained to negotiate financing of new UK ballpark

The University of Kentucky has retained IMG/International Stadia Group to negotiate financing and sponsorships for a new on-campus ballpark.

The University of Kentucky has retained IMG/International Stadia Group to negotiate financing and sponsorships for a new on-campus ballpark, as well as other university facilities.

IMG/ISG has maintained that private financing could be used to build a new football stadium and 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. 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.

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