The address for Churchill Downs in Louisville remains 700 Central Avenue, as it has for more than 100 years. But anyone who has not visited that address in 20 years might not believe they have arrived at the right place. Since 2005, Churchill Downs has been entirely remade, with nearly $700 million in renovations and additions that have utterly transformed the home of the Kentucky Derby. Once a somewhat shabby, cobble-stoned place where tradition won out over change, the infield teemed with shirtless partyers, and Millionaire’s Row was the only spot on the grounds where the rich and famous got VIP treatment, the new Churchill is a monument to the event ethos that has overtaken the board rooms of corporate America. The newest renovation, and Churchill’s most expensive, will greet every visitor that arrives at the track’s main entrance. Just steps beyond the front gates is the open end of Churchill’s new, horseshoe-shaped, stadium-style paddock, a $200 million project rising three stories above ground level. As the eyes rise to take it all in, they inevitably land on the one element of Churchill’s architecture that remains untouchable – the twin spires that still sit atop the old grandstand roof. “This is the most transformational project we have ever done here at Churchill Downs,” said Darren Rogers, the track’s vice president of communications, during a recent press event to showcase the renovation. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Rogers’ eyes darted over his shoulder, where the paddock building now obscures the two high-rise blocks of luxury suites to either side of the spires, rendering the view much diminished. “The twin spires are back in focus, and that’s very important to us,” he said. The $200 million paddock is the latest of 20 major capital projects undertaken at Churchill since 2005, when a massive four-year renovation of the track’s grandstand and clubhouse was completed – including the suites that loom over the twin spires. Altogether, the projects have cost Churchill $670 million, a total that would rise to nearly $1 billion when each of the project costs is adjusted for inflation. As a result, Churchill is now a far different racetrack – upward, outward, and inward – than it was in 2001. The 79 luxury suites completed in 2005 rise several stories higher than the twin spires, once the tallest features of the grandstand. High-priced suites at the finish line have replaced a section of open-air boxes separated by cast iron rails. Inside, a relatively modern press box constructed in 2005 was replaced seven years later by the Mansion, a $4.6 million renovation promising “personalized service, elegance, and excitement,” the first of several interior renovations designed to create new ticketing options for the most well-heeled of the Derby week crowds. More recently, three years ago Churchill finished the First Turn Experience, an open-air, roofed section of seating on a spot that was previously used for cheap seats and temporary grandstands. On the other end, suites and new grandstand seating stretch nearly all the way to the location of the starting gate for the Derby at the far end of the stretch. Throughout the expanded facility, lounges dot the rooftops, and inside, nearly every major concession area in the track has been remade. On the racing side, Churchill installed a permanent lighting system in 2010, allowing the track to run highly popular night cards attracting a much younger demographic. In 2014, it spent $14 million for a custom-made digital video board rising 170 feet on gigantic metal struts on the backside. Five years later, the backstretch got a new equine medical clinic and stable improvements. And in 2020, the track replaced and widened its turf course at a cost of $10 million. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Ryan Jordan, Churchill’s senior vice president of real-estate development, said that Churchill’s top executives meet every year to discuss ways to modernize the facility, with a heavy reliance on customer surveys and feedback. Over the past several years, those surveys have revealed that customers are “looking for ways to get closer to the action,” Jordan said, which has led Churchill to devote most of its recent projects to trackside areas. “They want to get next to the rail, they want to see the horses on the track, they want to be near the starting gate, they want to see the horses walk by during the [Derby] walkover, they want to get closer than they could get before,” Jordan said. That feedback drove the paddock renovation project as well. The area has space for 3,250 standing-room-only tickets on the tiers surrounding the paddock, plus 3,612 reserved seats with private amenities. At ground level, one of two “premium clubs” in the paddock renovation is located directly behind a bank of saddling stalls, offering patrons an intimate look at the horses and their connections through panels of semi-transparent, one-way glass. “We wanted to create new experiences,” Jordan said. “We wanted to give people a perspective they can’t get from TV.” Tickets for the two new premium areas in the paddock cost $7,000 to $16,000 each on Derby Day. Bill Carstanjen, the track’s chief executive officer, said during a conference call two years ago when Churchill announced the paddock project that revenues from the new area would pay down the entire $200 million cost in eight years. That’s $25 million each year. Like other companies that run highly popular sporting events, Churchill has embraced a strategy of creating as many segmented areas of its facility as the market will bear. Millionaire’s Row itself was the target of an $11 million renovation in 2020 that created a “finely curated culinary experience” with the construction of the Matt Winn Steakhouse, named after a Churchill executive who is credited with giving the Derby the prominence it enjoys today. So many areas of Churchill are now described as “VIP” that it’s a wonder that there are enough very important people in the world to fill them. While Churchill’s former chief executive, Robert Evans, was the first at the company to realize that the track could unlock hundreds of millions of dollars of new revenue from renovations and expansions of the facility, his successor, Carstanjen, isn’t looking backward, not as long as the projects keep generating cash. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  “We’ll be looking for ways to monetize everything about our facilities – sponsorships, TV rights, better wagering opportunities,” Carstanjen said on a April 25 conference call to discuss the company’s first-quarter results. “All the different categories that go into driving the entire pie. So it’s a process of constant improvement. The key to unlocking it is the physical facility and the energy that our guests bring when they interact with it.” Asked for details, Carstanjen said that a new project will be announced later this year. Its estimated cost – $60 milliion to $80 million. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.