A Louisville Metro Councilman plans to ask the state auditor to conduct a review of the Louisville Arena Authority, which oversees the KFC Yum Center.Councilman Dan Johnson, D-21, says the authority—which is a state body—has been mismanaged, and the University of Louisville’s control over the authority’s board has caused it to underperform.Johnson has previously called on Metro Council to reviewUofL's lease for the KFC Yum Center after the bond ratings were downgraded to junk status, calling into question the authority's ability to pay off the Yum! Center's massive $350 million construction debt.“It's just bull---," Johnson says."Excuse me for saying that. It needs to be changed, and that’s what I’m mad about. I want an NBA team in Louisville to be honest with you, sir, and you can’t do it with things like that. They don’t want an NBA team, because they won’t want competition, but competition is what we all live with.”Auditor Adam Edelen’s office has not returned a request for comment from Kentucky Public Radio. Johnson says he will call Edelen's office Monday to discuss an audit.An official audit of the authority could prove to be an uncomfortable situation for Edelen, who is rumored to be a potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate, relative to his relationship with the state's Democratic establishment. That's because Andrew Beshear, a candidate for state attorney general and son of Gov. Steve Beshear, is a member of the Arena Authority's board of directors.
