Kenton County Planning Commission backs Ludlow Schools’ proposed indoor athletic facility

The Kenton County Planning Commission has backed a proposal from the Ludlow Independent School District to build an indoor athletic facility across the street from James Rigney Memorial Stadium.

On Tuesday, Jan. 6, the planning commission heard a presentation from Kenton County Director of Planning Andy Videkovich on the project’s details, including the prospective facility’s scope and the current conditions at its future site.

The proposal was submitted by Ryan Ficke of Robert Hayes & Associates, a Crestview Hills-based architectural firm, on behalf of Ludlow Schools.

“The request is a public facility review for KRS 100.324 and KRS 147.680,” Kenton County Planning Commission Chair Brian Dunham stated. “The applicant proposes to construct a 9,280 square foot indoor practice facility with associated parking and pedestrian areas.”

Ludlow Schools’ plans to construct the facility on a half-acre parcel of land east of Adela Avenue, between Victoria Street and Mayfield Alley. The parcel is sandwiched between several single-family residences, the school district’s football stadium, and Ludlow Memorial Park.

The parcel is zoned Residential 1-J Urban (Historical Preservation Overlay), a city-specific designation intended to protect single-family and two-family housing near older areas and historic districts. The zone conditionally allows public and parochial schools, publicly owned and operated parks, playgrounds, golf courses, community recreation centers, swimming pools, and libraries, provided they meet specific area and height restrictions.

According to documents provided by the planning commission, the proposal calls for the removal of an existing maintenance building and the construction of an approximately 9,820-square-foot indoor practice facility. The plan includes six parking spaces and one ADA-accessible van parking space off Adela Avenue, along with multiple pedestrian walkways. 

Those walkways would provide two connections to Victoria Street and include five building entrances. Additional access points are planned by way of a stairway and a pedestrian entrance from Mayfield Alley, along with ADA-accessible ramps on the west and south sides of the building, each with its own entrance.

At the moment, the site is primarily used for storage and districtwide maintenance services.

“There are currently several shipping containers used for storage,” Videkovich said. “There’s also a maintenance building on the site that will be removed.”

Videkovich noted that the site’s proximity to Ludlow’s athletic facilities was a key factor in its selection by project leaders. PDS staff recognized that the indoor facility could complement Ludlow’s other athletic facilities and help the broader community by developing an underused property. Additionally, it will function as a connector between the school district’s athletic facilities and Ludlow Memorial Park. The development is near Ludlow’s school building, enabling easy walking between the two sites.

The proposal comes amid a massive facilities overhaul for Ludlow Schools. In 2023, the district broke ground on a multi-million-dollar expansion of its flagship school building, with plans to add a new cafeteria, library, band room and multiple art rooms, as well as upgrades to the school auditorium and ventilation systems. Moreover, the district is upgrading the school building’s internal infrastructure by making general improvements to the flooring, walls, and ceilings.

James Rigney Memorial Stadium – home of the Ludlow Panthers football team – also underwent transformative changes in 2024, as the school district added scarlet-red synthetic turf, updated scoreboards, and new LED lighting, among other improvements. The stadium, which opened in 1937, is among the oldest high school athletic facilities in Kentucky still in continuous use.