Kentucky Exposition Center's Unique Footprint Brings Back World-Renowned Events

The Kentucky Exposition Center is a unicorn among event spaces, offering 1.2 million square feet of connected climate-controlled space, two arenas, and over 370 acres of outdoor exhibit and demo space for some of the country’s largest music festivals and trade shows. The facility’s rich history of hosting and growing globally recognized shows in various industries speaks to the magnitude of what the Louisville-based center offers during its peak event season.  

Currently, the Kentucky Exposition Center is hosting two major musical festivals with long-time client Danny Wimmer Presents – Bourbon & Beyond, the world’s largest music, food, and bourbon festival, and Louder Than Life, one of the country’s largest heavy metal music festivals. Activations include utilizing a majority of the 3.5 million square feet of outdoor green space for the festival grounds and camping. Combined, it’s expected 375,000 music enthusiasts will attend this year’s events.  

A little over two weeks later, one of the largest trade shows in the country, Equip Exposition, will open its expo doors and outdoor demo yard to thousands of landscapers, contractors, dealers, distributors, hardscapers, and more. Every inch of exhibit space has been sold out and features a rare 30-acre outdoor demo yard where attendees can mow, chop, dig, and drive the latest equipment in the industry. 

Danny Wimmer Presents festivals and Equip Exposition are not the only shows that take advantage of the facility’s unique layout. Scrap Expo in mid-September each year and The Utility Expo (at KEC since 1987) in early October every other year both transform an additional 1.8 million square feet of paved outdoor space into their trade show floors. Similarly, in March, the Mid-America Trucking Show (at KEC since 1972) hosted the largest trucking show in North America, showing off big rigs inside and outside, and hosted a truck and tractor pull inside Freedom Hall.  

These shows have all called the Kentucky Exposition Center home for years, some for decades. Their loyalty to Louisville and the facility highlights how important the Kentucky Exposition Center’s layout is to successful events.