Our Roots

In 1996, Rob Butsch opened the first climbing gym in Louisville, KY called Rocksport Climbing Center. When asked what his goals for opening the gym were, Rob responded with “I wanted a place to train as a competitive rock climber and a place to teach people how to push themselves.” The gym successfully operated under this philosophy for over twenty years and helped hundreds if not thousands of people fall in love with the sport of climbing.

Dale Pettit was one of those climbers. In the wake of the loss of a local legend, our current owner Dale, heard the gym he grew up climbing at was being sold off and quickly got in touch with Rob’s son. He did everything he could to purchase the gym and turn it into the climber’s paradise he always dreamed of as a kid.

In August 2019, this dream became a reality and the priorities immediately became clear. RockSport needed to remain a gym for climbers at its core. After renovations, re-branding, and an entirely new team, RockSport re-opened just before Christmas in 2019.

We offer over 12,000 square feet of bouldering, top-roping, and lead climbing as well as a resistance training area, co-working space, and climbing specific training area.

 Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram