Papa John ' s Cardinal Stadium Papa John ' s Cardinal Stadium is a football stadium located in Louisville , Kentucky , USA and serves as the home of the University of Louisville football program . Debuting in 1998 , it is one of the last football stadiums in NCAA Division I - A ( now Division I FBS ) to open in the 20th century . The official seating capacity in the quasi - horseshoe shaped facility was 42 , 000 through the 2008 season . An expansion project that started after the 2008 season was completed in time for the 2010 season has brought the official capacity to 55 , 000 . History and fundraising . Due to the Kentucky General Assembly being unable to provide any public funding , construction of the stadium began with private funds , which included the reclamation of the land upon which the South Louisville Rail Yard was situated . The soils of the 92 acre brownfield site contained 47 different contaminates of concern before the project began . The rail yard ' s shift horn was saved and installed in the stadium ' s north end zone scoreboard and is sounded whenever the Cardinals score . The new parking at the stadium allowed the university to move some parking for commuting students there , allowing redevelopment of on - campus parking lots into various athletic facilities . In 2000 , Central Avenue was widened and extended from Taylor Boulevard to Crittenden Drive , a major redevelopment project . Because the road connected Churchill Downs , an entrance to the Kentucky Exposition Center ( which is home to Freedom Hall ) and the university ' s new baseball venue , Jim Patterson Stadium , all located within a mile of each other , the road has now been dubbed as " Louisville ' s Sports Corridor . " The stadium was named for " Old " Cardinal Stadium , which is located at the Kentucky Exposition Center , but with corporate naming rights providing its current distinction . Papa John ' s Pizza , founded by John Schnatter , a native of nearby Jeffersonville , Indiana , donated $ 5 million for the naming rights to the stadium . The stadium was christened on September 5th , 1998 ; the Cardinals lost the opening game to the Kentucky Wildcats 68 - 34 but won all other home games that year . Physical features . At the north end of the stadium is the Howard Schnellenberger Football Complex , which houses the football offices and the conditioning center for the football team . Also at the north end is a bronze statue of Johnny Unitas , NFL great and the most famous football alumnus of the university . As part of game day tradition , each Cardinal player touches the base of the statue before entering the field prior to kickoff . In 2006 the $ 10 million Trager Center , an indoor practice facility opened just north of the Schnellenberger Complex , providing a dry and warm area to allow undisrupted practices in Louisville ' s highly variable weather . An interesting feature is the Brown and Williamson Club located at the rear of the stadium ' s press box . It contains several large ball rooms and is rented out for receptions to bring in additional revenue . It is also often used by the school to host prominent visiting speakers . The venue overlooks the school ' s new Jim Patterson Stadium and Jewish Hospital Sports Medicine complex , which was completed in 2005 . At the start of the 2006 football season , a new state - of - the - art high definition scoreboard was installed in the north end zone . It is three times as large as the previous scoreboard . A new red LED scoreboard was also installed in the south end zone , as was a lighted " University of Louisville " sign around the upper rim of the exterior of the east stands , which increases the stadium ' s visibility from Interstate 65 . Uses other than Louisville football . The stadium has hosted many events apart from U of L football , among them soccer matches , including fixtures for the US women ' s national team ; concert s ; auto show s ; and the annual DCI Louisville drum & bugle corps competition , hosting several corps from the midwest . In high school football , it has hosted a local event known as the Ray Adams Charger Classic , plus various other games . Most notably , PJCS is the regular host of two major city rivalries — the Catholic rivalry between St . Xavier and Trinity , which regularly draws crowds in the 35 , 000 range ; and the Male - Manual game , a public - school battle which is the longest running , continuously played high school football rivalry in America . It was also the annual site of the Kentucky state high school football championship games until the 2009 season , when the games were moved to Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green . PJCS has also seen use for large religious events . Evangelist Billy Graham held one of his crusades at the stadium . Stadium expansion . In October 2006 , an official rendering and details were released of what an expanded stadium would look like and cost . The ambitious original plan called for an additional 21 , 600 seats and 70 suites added via a new upper deck on the side opposite the main press box area , all for an estimated price tag of $ 63 million , which is almost identical to the cost to build the original stadium . On August 27 , 2007 , John Schnatter donated $ 10 million in support of the expansion , and extended naming rights through 2040 . The Kentucky General Assembly , the state legislature , provided the balance of funding for the project . The stadium is therefore about 46 % state - funded in total . On December 1 , 2008 , construction started on the east side of the stadium , and the expansion was finished in Fall 2010 . The expansion was scaled down from the original plans with about 13 , 000 additional seats ( 1 , 725 of which are higher - priced club seats ) and 33 suites instead of the originally planned 70 . There is also a 100 - yard - long luxury room called the PNC Club , which is similar to the west - side Brown & Williamson Club but has a glassed - in view of the field . There is also standing space for 2 , 500 people on the new Norton Healthcare Terrace located on the south end ( closed end ) of the horseshoe - shaped stadium . The expansion , which eventually cost $ 72 million , also included 20 new restrooms , two new 345 ' x 3 ' LED ribbon boards located on the facia of the east and west sides of the stadium , a new 60 ' x 20 ' LED video board on the south end of the stadium , matching in size the existing board on the north end , and a new 13 x 9 LED board facing outside the stadium to the south . Attendance records . 1 ) 55 , 386 vs . Kentucky , September 2 , 2012 2 ) 55 , 327 vs . Kentucky , September 4 , 2010 3 ) 55 , 106 vs . Cincinnati , October 15 , 2010 4 ) 53 , 334 vs . North Carolina , September 15 , 2012 5 ) 53 , 271 vs . Cincinnati , October 26 , 2012