Laura Alexander Named VP of Lexington’s Rupp Arena by Oak View Group

Oak View Group (OVG) recently promoted Laura Alexander to Vice President of Rupp Arena, Central Bank Center, Lexington Opera House and the OVG Concert Series at Gatton Park in Lexington, Kentucky.

Alexander become the first woman to serve as the top executive overseeing Rupp Arena and Central Bank Center, following Tom Minton, William Owen and Brian Sipe on Oct. 3.

Alexander is currently serving as Assistant General Manager. She will oversee all venue operations across the Lexington venue portfolio, including event management, sales and marketing, facility operations, guest experience, financial performance and booking activity, as well as national touring acts at Gatton Park on the Town Branch.

Since arriving in Lexington in 2022, Alexander has played a significant role in establishing the operational framework for the transformed convention center and helping position the venue campus for a growing calendar of conventions, entertainment, sporting events and community gatherings.

Prior to joining Oak View Group ( Pollstar ’s parent company), in Lexington, Alexander built an accomplished career in venue management in Owensboro, Kentucky, where she gained extensive experience in convention center operations, event management and community engagement. The Kentucky native’s proven track record of leadership and operational excellence in the state led to her recruitment to Lexington.

Venues Pulse: I’ll wager it’s a bonus to be based at the epicenter of bourbon and horse racing.

Laura Alexander: If we have a concert that is in April or October during the racing season for Keeneland, all of a sudden you get all the VIPs, whether it’s from Live Nation or the management company or that’s like, “Hey, I’m coming up.” So yeah, we knew that that was not a coincidence.

Pulse: Obviously you are in a desirable location but it’s a very competitive market. How do you set yourself apart from Louisville, which is only 75 miles away?

Alexander: With Louisville obviously being right down the road, one thing that really differentiates Lexington from the rest of the state is Rupp Arena, which is Kentucky’s venue. People want to come in. A lot of that has to do with the UK basketball, but when it comes to the folks that are in Eastern Kentucky or the folks in Western Kentucky, a lot of them have not been to a big arena. So, when they come here for the state basketball championship, they feel like it is Kentucky’s arena, not just Lexington’s arena – and we’re fully embracing that.

Pulse: What is the impact of tourism?

Alexander: The reason why Lexington is so successful is that it’s not just one thing that is driving the success and tourism. It is a variety of different things. You’ve got the horse industry. You’ve got the bourbon industry. So what happens is when people see that there’s a concert here, instead of just driving up for the concert, they’re making an entire weekend out of it. They’re going to Keeneland for the races. They’re going to a show that night. They’re going to do the Bourbon Trail the next day and staying at the hotels. So, what it’s doing is extending the stays, and then we are able to now draw from outside of our region.

Pulse: What is your management philosophy?

Alexander: It goes back to empowerment. That’s what describes my leadership style. But then utilizing the resources that OVG has – that’s what really builds people up into taking on new roles. That is something you cannot take for granted within Oak View Group and it’s amazing – the community and the investment. I mean Dave (Anderson), Shura (Garnett), Tom (Paquette) and even Greg O’Dell have taken almost a personal interest in my growth and that means a lot.

So, I would say my leadership style is transparent and centered on bringing senior leaders together to help provide feedback so that I can make those executive decisions. But it’s also to make sure that I’m empowering them with the vision and the guide, so that when they are presented an opportunity, they can make executive level decisions without me having to be in the room.

Pulse: You’ve been in the market since 2022 and as a Kentuckian, how have you integrated yourself into the community?

Alexander: You have to be involved in the community. And for a city like Lexington, it’s one of those places where it has a lot of the amenities of a large market, but it’s also that small town feel. There are three people that work here in this building that came from my hometown. So, you have to be involved in the community and get to know people because in a city like Lexington, that is how you’re able to work together and have strong partnerships.

Pulse: A massive $310 million renovation of Central Bank Center and some areas of Rupp Arena was completed in 2022. How challenging is it to modernize the facility while protecting the legacy?

Alexander: It’s a great combination, and we’re still working on how to do that. Obviously, Rupp Arena is one of the oldest NCAA arenas, at least in the SEC that are still in operation – and we’re celebrating our 50th anniversary this year. So, you have to be able to marry the historic nature and the preservation of that, while also providing those amenities that a lot of your attendees are accustomed to.

Pulse: Do you have an example?

Alexander” Rupp arena still had bleacher seating up until 2019. They put chairbacks on the side because everybody was expecting chairbacks at that point and especially when they’re paying a season ticket for UK, they needed that amenity because that was the standard. So we do evaluate what those standards are for each venue, and we make sure that we are planning accordingly.

Pulse: Going from bleachers to fixed seats reduced capacity from 23,000 to 20,500 for basketball. Has that had an impact on games?

Alexander: I don’t know if you’ve been here for a UK game, but they are insane. They record the decimal levels for fun and it gets loud.

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/10/02/oak-view-group-taps-laura-alexander-as-vice-president-of-lexingtons-rupp-arena/)._