Sports
Churchill Downs Awards Contract for New $280M–$300M Seating Structure
Calhoun Construction will build four-story Victory Run project to replace existing seating with expanded grandstands and premium amenities under tight 24-month schedule.
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The Victory Run project at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., with an investment of $280 million to $300 million, will replace 6,400 seats with a new 7,800-seat structure featuring private suites, indoor and outdoor dining options, and covered box seats.
Churchill Downs Inc., home of the Kentucky Derby, has selected Louisville-based Calhoun Construction Services to build Victory Run, a four-story structure estimated to cost between $280 million and $300 million.
The project will replace about 6,400 existing seats with a 7,800-seat structure that includes private suites, indoor and outdoor dining and covered box seating. Victory Run is planned for the first turn of the -mile racetrack, between the First Turn Club and the Skye Terrace, a location track officials say will offer expansive views of the 1,234.5-ft homestretch and finish line.
Pending approval of incentives by Louisville and state agencies, including the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, construction is expected to begin after the 2026 Kentucky Derby on May 2 and be completed in time for the May 6, 2028 event. The deadline is considered firm, which provides challenges for Calhoun that has led various other construction projects at Churchill Downs for about a dozen years.
“The project consists of demolition and replacement of an existing seating area with new grandstands, suites and hospitality areas,” says Jeff Palmquist, Calhoun project executive. “Aside from the scheduling hurdles, the project presents its own challenges driven largely by the aggressive timeline.”
The site is adjacent to the active racetrack, requiring construction to proceed without disrupting racing and daily operations. To minimize noise and interference, Calhoun plans to use double shifts.
“The first few months will be performed at night under the lights,” Palmquist says. During nonracing periods, work will shift to daytime hours but will not begin before 10 a.m. to accommodate horse training.
When racing resumes in the fall, construction will again move primarily to nights, with a limited daytime crew handling deliveries and other low-impact tasks. Palmquist says extensive coordination will be required to maintain workforce continuity and trade sequencing.
Logistics, he says, will pose the greatest challenge.
“The new building is nestled between two existing buildings and fronted by the racetrack,” Palmquist says. “Space is extremely limited. Foundation, steel, precast and concrete work will require carefully choreographed sequencing, and access will eventually be reduced to a single entry point.”
All work will pause temporarily for the running of the 153rd Kentucky Derby in 2027, requiring full demobilization of subcontractors and restoration of the site to a safe, publicly accessible condition.
The second year of construction will echo the first, with alternating night and day work and continued coordination while the racetrack remains operational, Palmquist says.
Plans for Victory Run are moving forward despite a pause on roughly $900 million in other construction projects at Churchill Downs, with officials citing tariff and other economic impacts. Track spokesman Darren Rogers said the company had no comment on when or if those projects might resume.
