Step one is complete: Rupp Arena has a firm redesign in mind after a Lexington subcommittee approved a proposed new look.

The finances are a whole separate issue. A report is due in January.

As for just the aesthetics, the new design looks great, at least based on the conceptual renderings. The bland gray box will have its outside stripped and replaced with glass, with a few undulations included to make it not look like a — well, a box. Some of the casing will be translucent, allowing those on the outside to see through to the inside.

The new design will put Rupp Arena at the forefront of best-looking college arenas. Louisville’s is, too (and the two could share similarities, from the glass exterior to the occasional curve in the building’s structure). And really, that’s where Rupp Arena should be. As it stands, the outside is completely nondescript and hardly memorable. It’s literally just a big box attached to a convention center. The actual Rupp Arena insignia is tucked away on a small corner. Walking toward it, nothing about the outside appearance even says “UK basketball,” much less “gold standard.”

Of course, the inside of the building does say all of those things. With the new move, the outside will finally be able to say the same.