Churchill Downs Adds Rooftop Seating, Padded Seats

From the bottom floors to the rooftop of Churchill Downs, people attending this year's Kentucky Oaks and Derby Weekend will notice the latest upgrades at the iconic facility.

The improvements range from a rooftop lounge atop the Starting Gate Suites to padded chairs throughout the grandstand and clubhouse boxes. Additionally, the track has a new entrance at the corner of South Fourth Street and Central Avenue that—besides directing people into the infield—serves as a visual gateway for anyone else coming to the track traveling south on Fourth or west on Central.

The $5 million Starting Gate Rooftop Garden, which sits atop the Starting Gate Suites that opened last year, has balconies overlooking the racetrack on one side, with a panoramic view of the Louisville skyline at the rear. The area also has two bars, a dining area and high-top tables.

"The new area consists of approximately 250 new seats and an additional 250 access tickets," Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen told investors on a conference call last week. "We are pleased to report it is sold out."

Several of Churchill's recent projects use balcony views of the track with access to some area under cover, with the rooftop garden being the latest of those.

Guests have said they "love the idea of having a little cover but being outside so they can see the party going on throughout the facility," said track president Kevin Flanery this week.

More noticeable to even more reserved-seat Derby-goers will be 25,400 flip-down padded chairs, added at a cost of $2.8 million, that also will be in place throughout Churchill's race meetings. The chairs replace the basic metal fold-up chairs that had been there—in some form—for decades.

"One of the things we've really been focused on the last several years is listening to our guests," Flanery said. "It's shocking if you listen to the people who are having fun at the track. They can tell you amazing things, and what we just kept hearing (was) that it's a long day and they would love to have a little bit more comfortable seating. ... It's just to make the day a little bit easier on the guests, and it came about by listening to them."

The $3 million infield entrance—besides serving that purpose—has a video board and signage that creates a visual entry to the track at the corner of Fourth and Central where a bank was located for decades.

"The experience of coming to the Derby or coming to the track begins long before you go through the gates," Flanery said. "... As people come down Central Avenue, I want them to see the facility and think 'I am going somewhere special.' So we've invested in the surrounding area outside our gates," including the parking lot and colonnade that extends along the frontside to the infield gate.

"It's meant to give the sense of arrival to the guests so that they really understand what a special place this is, and we're going to continue to look at projects like that just sort of speak to the guest about what they're about to experience," Flanery said.

Churchill hinted at future possible projects last fall in a presentation to investors—including even a hotel at the track.

While not directly addressing the specifics of those plans, Flanery said that generally "every chance we've got, if it makes sense, we'll build a balcony (and) create some sort of hospitality there so you're not stuck indoors, you're not necessarily out in the elements. You've got something in the middle that you can experience both sides."

In the conference call with investors last week, Carstanjen said that one of the future goals also is to provide more hospitality amenities for the 110,000 people who attend the Derby without having a seat. 

"Also, further segmentation for the people who do have seats to create better experiences—richer experiences that they're willing to pay more for—I think that's a great opportunity for us," Carstanjen said.