LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday the state's capacity restrictions on indoor and outdoor events will be lifted June 11. All indoor and outdoors events will be open to 100% capacity.
June 11 is the same day Beshear said the state will lift the mask mandate. The governor cited the decision to continue the mandate until that date is to give unvaccinated Kentuckians the opportunity to register for vaccine appointments and give time for the 12-15 age group to get vaccinated.
"On June 11, life will almost fully be back to normal," Beshear said. "This is an entirely new day and this is really exciting."
Friday's capacity announcement means a first for one of Louisville's event venues. Lynn Family Stadium will for the first time ever in June, potentially be able to fill every seat in its stands.
"We had to shut the whole thing down and come back and do a whole season at 30%," VP of communications Jonathan Lintner said.
The Butchertown stadium is six years in the making, and had sold out its first game in the new stadium just as the pandemic and COVID-19 restrictions began.
"I'm just happy that we are so close now to where they can come out and enjoy what this should be," Lintner said.
Lynn Family stadium says it's matching the CDC and state guidelines and won't require masks at games after June 11. Until then, it will require fans not fully vaccinated to continue wearing them.
"Yes, there's an honor system aspect to it and maybe not every single person is comfortable with that, the gray area being of course children under 12 cannot be vaccinated yet," Lintner said.
Choosing not to verify vaccinations for every attendee, the soccer clubs say it's also offering ticket holders a credit if they're not comfortable attending one of the upcoming games.
The Kentucky Exposition Center and Kentucky International Convention Center are also excited to welcome back events at full capacity.
"It's verification that progress has been made and we're moving in the right direction," President and CEO of Kentucky Venues, David Beck, said. "We've been busy re-booking and bringing in the new clients."
Upcoming events like the KY State Fair, Louder Than Life music festival, and the purebred livestock show will all now be back in the upcoming months.
"There will be the opportunity to increase the number of participants that come in and visit the facilities and participate in the various events," Beck said.
Beck also said the two venues have largely filled up its calendar again, close to the more than 300 events it held prior to the pandemic.
The KFC Yum! Center also issued a statement Friday about the changes in capacity and mask guidelines:
"Effective immediately, the KFC Yum! Center will follow updated CDC and Commonwealth of Kentucky Guidelines that allow those fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to go without wearing a face covering or physically distancing in most settings. Certain artists and events may require masks and physical distancing; therefore, specific Covid-19 policies may be adjusted and will be announced prior to each event. In line with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s increase in capacity limits, the KFC Yum! Center will move to 75% capacity on May 29th and 100% capacity on June 11th.The venue will continue to follow many of its VenueShield protocols including sanitizing before, during and after events especially touchpoints, clear bag requirements, cashless sales and plexiglass barriers at points of sale."
►Contact reporter Tyler Emery at temery@WHAS11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@TylerWHAS11) and Facebook.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.