March Madness Bets - Arena Wars: Freedom Hall vs. Rupp Arena

Welcome to another edition of our summer series Arena Wars, where we've summoned the fans to defend their home court.

Each week we pit two arenas and fans against each. Could be arenas of rival teams, arenas with similar characteristics or arenas that are simply historically significant. Then it's put up to vote and you decide which arena has the greatest home-court advantage.

We turn to the bluegrass state for this week's featured matchup and that can only mean one thing -- the University of Kentucky's Rupp Arena vs. the University of Louisville's Freedom Hall. The state loves its basketball and both arenas annually rank top five in attendance and you place March Madness Bets.

Freedom Hall, 20 years the elder of Rupp having opened in 1956, has been a great arena for the Cardinals, who have posted a home record of 669-137 through the years. Alas, its days are numbered. Following the 2009-10 season, the Cardinals will move to a new state-of-the-art arena in downtown Louisville featuring a minimum capacity of 22,000 for men's basketball.

While Kentucky's Rupp lacks the amenities of most arenas of its size, it hasn't kept fans from turning out in record numbers. In fact, it's the bleacher seating and absence of luxury boxes that allows Rupp to cram 23,000+ into the arena for every home game. Since opening in 1976, the Wildcats have lost just 60 home games while claiming 426 victories.

If you've visited either of this week's featured arenas, chip in with your experiences in the March Madness Bets.