The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Waterfront Development Corp. board is expected to pass a resolution Wednesady opposing a University of Louisville basketball arena at a site next to Louisville Slugger Field, the board's vice chairman said.

Under state statute and local ordinances, an arena could not be built near the riverfront - the primary site that has been discussed since U of L officials recently revived the arena idea - unless the waterfront board approves the design.

Board members can't imagine an arena design that would work there, said Oliver Barber, a lawyer and the board's vice chairman.

"We do not want to put up a wall or a barrier between the river and the city," Barber said.

U of L athletics director Tom Jurich and men's basketball coach Rick Pitino previously met with the waterfront property's owners, brothers Todd and Jonathan Blue, and asked them to hold off on plans to develop the site into housing and offices.

Jurich said Friday in a statement: "We are not far enough along in any discussions to have an opinion on the location of a potential new arena." He and athletics spokesman Kenny Klein declined to comment further.

U of L spokeswoman Rae Goldsmith said talks of a new basketball arena "are still very much in the exploratory stages." With the state facing severe budget shortages, the arena is not a primary focus for the university, she said.

But businessman Bill Stone, a member of the U of L committee studying the university's arena needs, said waterfront officials' opposition will not kill U of L's search. "It will happen; it is only a question of when," Stone said.

Discussions can continue about remodeling Freedom Hall or building an arena at the Old Cardinal Stadium, at Belknap Campus or at another downtown site, Stone said.

Todd Blue said that he and his brother support building a downtown arena "regardless of the location." The Blues never stopped planning to develop the riverfront block with housing and other mixed-use projects, even while the arena was being discussed, he said. If an opportunity to develop the block presents itself, the Blues will proceed, Todd Blue said.

Barber said the waterfront board wants its position on the record to assure people who are considering riverfront investments that they won't have an arena sprout next door.

Barber said the master waterfront plan drafted a decade ago calls for the Blues' property to be developed with housing or some mix of office and commercial use. The Louisville Board of Aldermen and Jefferson Fiscal Court both approved the master plan, which stipulates that the riverfront must remain accessible and the view of the river unobstructed, Barber said.

"We have upheld (that) for the last 10 years," Barber said. "The plan has helped make the waterfront accessible ... and helped make Waterfront Park so popular."

The waterfront officials' public stance was prompted by a letter Chairman Charles McCarty sent to other board members Wednesday.

In the letter, McCarty, who is in Florida, said the arena "would dominate and overwhelm the beauty of Waterfront Park."

He urged the waterfront board "to put this issue to rest once and for all."