State Spotlight:
Kentucky

Known for hosting major annual events like the Kentucky Derby and being the birthplace of legendary sports figures such as Muhammad Ali, Kentucky has firmly established itself in the world of athletics. With major sports brands like Louisville Slugger calling it home, the Bluegrass State offers a winning combination with state-of-the-art venues, dedicated sports professionals, stunning landscapes, and easily accessible locations, ensuring that athletes and spectators have an authentic and memorable experience from start to finish.

State Spotlight:
Kentucky

Known for hosting major annual events like the Kentucky Derby and being the birthplace of legendary sports figures such as Muhammad Ali, Kentucky has firmly established itself in the world of athletics. With major sports brands like Louisville Slugger calling it home, the Bluegrass State offers a winning combination with state-of-the-art venues, dedicated sports professionals, stunning landscapes, and easily accessible locations, ensuring that athletes and spectators have an authentic and memorable experience from start to finish.

Valor Hall is booking for 2025 & 2026! We have hosted a variety of events including kickboxing, wrestling, military balls, and concerts! Valor Hall has played host to streamed and televised sporting events! Valor Hall offers over 10,000 square feet of regular meeting space along with 6,000 square feet of glass enclosed pre-function space and several breakout rooms. If you are planning an event from afar, that’s ok, we have an online tour, and our event coordinators would be happy to walk you through everything over a call. Se habla español.

Ashland

Ashland is located on the southern banks of the Ohio River in the tri-state area of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Hotel Rooms: 1100
Hotel tax rate: 12 percent
Major Facilities:
  • The Ashland Tennis Center has four indoor and 11 outdoor courts
Contact:

Visit Ashland, KY, visitaky.com.

Bardstown

Bardstown is located in Nelson County in the heart of the Bluegrass State. The small town is actually Kentucky’s second oldest city.

Hotel Rooms: Approximately 8 properties
Major Facilities:
  • Bardstown County Club at Maywood is an 18-hole championship golf course
  • The Bardstown/Nelson County Parks & Recreation Department maintains one Olympic-size pool
  • The 70-acre Dean Watts Park includes 12 youth soccer fields, four youth football fields, and six baseball/softball fields
Contact:

Visit Bardstown, visitbardstown.com.

Bowling Green

Bowling Green’s combination of strong sports facilities, a positive event-hosting track record, a supportive community, and unique entertainment options makes it an attractive and distinct choice for sporting events.

Hotel Rooms: 3,500
Hotel tax rate: 13 percent
Major Facilities:
  • Bowling Green Ballpark is a 4,500-seat minor league stadium
  • Michael Buchanon Park is an eight-field baseball/softball complex with a 62,000-square-foot gym and 40,000-square-foot space that houses four basketball/volleyball courts and eight pickleball courts, and attached to the gym is an 82,000-square-foot multipurpose tennis facility with six outdoor courts and six indoor courts that can convert to basketball/volleyball courts
  • E.A. Diddle Arena is a 7,500-seat multipurpose venue
Convention Center:

Sloan Convention Center is conveniently located near three hotels with a combined 444 rooms. Its versatile ballroom, which is 19,500-plus square feet, hosts multiple sports, such as dance, indoor archery, and cheerleading.

Contact:

Bowling Green Area CVB, visitbgky.com.

Elizabethtown

Located in central Kentucky and close to major parkways, Elizabethtown is easy to get to. The city offers a thriving downtown, known as the “Hub,” with new restaurants, shopping, and live music nearly every night.

Hotel Rooms: 2,400
Major Facilities:
  • Elizabethtown Sports Park is a 158-acre outdoor complex with 25 total fields, including 12 diamonds with newly-installed infield Astroturf, 12 rectangular fields of various sizes, and a Miracle Field
  • Ripken Baseball offers 12 lighted, synthetic-turf diamonds
Contact:

Elizabethtown TCB, touretown.com.

Frankfort

Frankfort, Kentucky’s capital city, is just a short drive from Lexington and Louisville. The city offers plenty of indoor and outdoor facilities and lots to do before or after the event.

Hotel Rooms: 864
Major Facilities:
  • Capital View Park has two lighted fields and three unlighted fields for soccer, four lighted softball fields, and nine miles of trails for mountain biking
  • Lakeview Park has seven soccer fields, four youth softball fields, and a disc golf course
Contact:

Frankfort Tourist Commission, visitfrankfort.com.

Henderson County

Henderson County is situated in western Kentucky. The area is nestled long the Ohio River and is home to numerous parks and facilities.

Hotel Rooms: 500
Major Facilities:
  • Sandy Watkins Community Park offers fishing lakes, bike trails, and a boat launch
  • Doc Hosbach Tennis Complex offers 12 public tennis courts
Contact:

Henderson County Tourist Commission, hendersonky.org.

Hopkins County

Conveniently located directly on I-69 in the heart of western Kentucky, Madisonville and Hopkins County are excellent destinations for your next sporting event, thanks to their premier sports and recreation facilities.

Hotel Rooms: 508
Hotel tax rate: 11 percent
Major Facilities:
  • Kentucky Sports Factory is a 90,000-square-foot indoor facility with six basketball courts, 22 pickleball courts, 12 volleyball courts, and one indoor turf field
  • West Kentucky Archery Complex is a 18,000-square-foot indoor facility with 50-plus shooting lanes and up to 90 meter outdoor shooting range
Convention Center:

Ballard Convention Center  offers a meeting/training room, two large event/exhibit halls, and outdoor arena and fairgrounds.

Contact:

Hopkins County Tourist & Convention Commission, visitmadisonvilleky.com.

Hopkinsville

Hopkinsville offers diverse and accessible facilities for most sports of most sizes. From a robust skate park and rolling disc golf offerings to a 55,000-square-foot indoor recreational facility and a five-plex softball field pentagon, Hopkinsville is the place to play.

Hotel Rooms: 1100
Major Facilities:
  • Tie Breaker Athletic Park has five softball/youth baseball fields
  • Planters Bank-Jennie Stuart Health Sportsplex Hopkinsville includes three basketball courts and a turf field
  • Hopkinsville Skatepark has ramps, quarter-pipes, decks, and more
  • Thomas Street Recreation Center includes a basketball court and pickleball courts
  • Stadium of Champions hosts football, track, soccer, and more
  • DeBow Recreational Complex offers space for up to seven soccer fields or football fields
Contact:

Visit Hopkinsville, VisitHopkinsville.com.

Kentucky Lake

Kentucky Lake offers a rare blend of scenic beauty, world-class outdoor recreation, and versatile sports facilities—all within a short drive of major population centers in the Midwest and Southeast. As home to Major League Fishing headquarters and the site of numerous national bass fishing tournaments, the area is a premier destination for competitive angling.

Hotel Rooms: 1,000
Hotel tax rate: 10 percent
Major Facilities:
  • Mike Miller Park includes two lighted baseball/softball fields and two youth soccer fields
  • Calvert City Ballpark Complex includes four baseball/softball fields
  • Kenlake Tennis Center has dozens of courts
Contact:

Kentucky Lake CVB, kentuckylake.org.

Lake Barkley

The Lake Barkley region is in western Kentucky and offers a variety of attractions and activities. Water activities are always popular here as the area boasts more than 57 thousand acres of water.

Hotel Rooms: Approximately 6 properties
Major Facilities:
  • Lake Barkley is an angler’s dream and a great destination for fishing for crappie, largemouth bass, white bass, catfish, sauger, and bluegill
Contact:

Lake Barkley Tourist Commission, lakebarkley.org.

Lebanon

Lebanon is centrally located to both Louisville and Lexington. The city is in the heart of bourbon country with lots of outdoor recreational opportunities.

Hotel Rooms: 200
Major Facilities:
  • Graham Memorial Park houses a 25-meter by 25-yard pool, two fastpitch softball fields, three Little League fields, and two tennis courts
Contact:

Visit Lebanon, visitlebanonky.com.

Lexington

Lexington is known as the “Horse Capital of the World” and is surrounded by world famous horse farms and bourbon distilleries.  The city has everything needed for an exceptional sports experience.

Hotel Rooms: 10,000
Hotel tax rate: 16 percent
Major Facilities:
  • Rupp Arena is a multipurpose venue with seating up to 23,000
  • Alltech Arena at Kentucky Horse Park is a multipurpose venue used for equestrian, indoor football, rodeos, and more
  • Lexington Sporting Club Soccer Complex is a soccer stadium with seven multipurpose turf fields
Convention Center:

Central Bank Center is a newly renovated downtown complex featuring 100,000 square feet of space and is the home of Rupp Arena.

Contact:

VisitLEX, VisitLEX.com.

London

London is located in Laurel County. Located on I-75, the area is easily accessible from most major locations, conveniently just a few hours from Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Columbus.

Hotel Rooms: 1,258
Hotel tax rate: 10 percent
Major Facilities:
  • Optimist Club offers a 15,000-square-foot gym, nine soccer fields, two basketball courts, and two volleyball courts
  • The Fairgrounds sit on 74 acres
  • The Oaks is an 18-hole golf course
  • Whitley Branch Veterans Park has an 18-hole, par-three, disc golf course
Contact:

London-Laurel County Tourist Commission, visitlondonky.com.

Louisville

Louisville is a city famous for sports icons like Muhammad Ali, Churchill Downs and Louisville Slugger. It is a city with a thriving sports community that has been home to countless championships.

Hotel Rooms: 24,000
Hotel tax rate: 16.07 percent
Major Facilities:
  • Kentucky Venues boasts 1.2 million square feet of space, including 19,000-seat Freedom Hall and 5,000-seat Broadbent Arena
  • KFC Yum! Center is a 22,000-seat arena in the heart of downtown
  • Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center is a track and field facility with the only banked indoor track in Kentucky
Convention Center:

The Kentucky International Convention Center provides more than 200,000 contiguous square feet of space.

Contact:

Louisville Sports Commission, louisvillesports.org.

Northern Kentucky

Located at the edge of the South, Northern Kentucky is an ideal location to bring a sporting event as it’s within a half-day’s drive to most of the east coast, southern and Midwest population.

Hotel Rooms: 7000
Hotel tax rate: 12.36 percent
Major Facilities:
  • PromoWest Pavilion at Ovation is an indoor/outdoor multipurpose venue
  • BB&T Arena is a multipurpose indoor venue with nearly 10,000 seats
Convention Center:

Northern Kentucky Convention Center is a 204,000-square-foot multipurpose facility.

Contact:

Northern Kentucky CVB, meetNKY.com.

Owensboro

Owensboro offers a diverse mix of venues with most being less than 10 years old.

Hotel Rooms: 1,500
Hotel tax rate: 9 percent
Major Facilities:
  • Fisher Park has four turf baseball/softball fields
  • Panther Creek Park includes four baseball/softball fields
  • Thompson Berry includes 11 soccer fields
  • Edge Ice Arena is one hockey rink
Convention Center:

The Owensboro Convention Center can hold eight volleyball courts and four basketball courts and hosts other sports such as volleyball, cheerleading, dance, pickleball, and archery.

Contact:

Owensboro-Daviess County CVB, visitowensboro.com.

Paducah

Paducah is situated in western Kentucky, halfway between Nashville and St. Louis. At the heart of America’s inland waterways where the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers meet, Paducah’s natural and built venues are adaptable for a variety of sporting events.

Hotel Rooms: 2,000
Hotel tax rate: 14 percent
Major Facilities:
  • Paducah Ohio River Boat Launch is used for a variety of fishing tournaments
  • Twin Oaks Lake is a 50-acre, two-lake tournament water skiing venue
  • Country Club of Paducah is an 18-hole golf course
  • Historic Brooks Stadium is a 1,800-seat ballpark
Convention Center:

The Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Expo Center offers 100,000 square feet of flexible space under one roof. The facility has hosted sports such as basketball, volleyball, and cheer and dance.

Contact:

Paducah CVB, Paducah.travel.com.

Pike County

The Pike County region in eastern Kentucky and is surrounded by the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. The area is great for events like running and fishing, as well as traditional sports like baseball, football, and soccer.

Hotel Rooms: 700
Major Facilities:
  • The East Kentucky Expo Center seats 7000 and can host a variety of sports, from baseball to motorsports
Contact:

Pike County Tourism CVB, tourpikecounty.com.

Somerset

Somerset is located in Pulaski County. The area offers a rare blend of competitive sporting venues, scenic beauty, and small-town hospitality.

Hotel Rooms: 612
Hotel tax rate: 14 percent in city limits; 10 percent outside city limits
Major Facilities:
  • Ward Correll Sports Complex has five fields
  • The Center for Rural Development has 35,000 square feet of space and hosts wrestling and roller derby
Contact:

Somerset-Pulaski County CVB, lctourism.com.