Fusebazell Posted May 12, 2004 Share Posted May 12, 2004 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Los Angeles-based company plans to invest $50 million to build a new downtown arena, and hopes to bring an NBA or NHL team to Kansas City."I can assure you that there will be an anchor tenant," Timothy Leiweke, vice president of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, said Wednesday. "We have had conversations specifically with those leagues' franchises. I don't think there's a better time to get involved with a National Hockey League team than now."The company is controlled by Philip Anschutz, a Denver billionaire who owns the Los Angeles Kings and several teams in Major League Soccer. Anschutz also owns part of the Los Angeles Lakers and their arena, Staples Center.The 18,500-20,000-seat arena will cost $225-250 million and will be called the Sprint Center, after the suburban Overland Park, Kan.-based telecommunications firm, which has agreed to purchase the naming rights.The National Association of Basketball Coaches will also invest $10 million in the project, and move its headquarters from Overland Park to the facility and open a college basketball hall of fame on site.Private contributions will cover nearly half of the arena's total cost. The rest will come from assorted tax credits and license fees, including a $1.50 per occupied room per day hotel fee and $4 per day fee on rental cars. Mayor Kay Barnes said the project won't break ground until voters approve those two new fees, which will appear on the August ballot.A consortium of several Kansas City-based sports architecture firms have said they plan to bid for the arena's design contract. Also expected the bid is a group led by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesCraven Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 So, the best they can do is an AHL team right now, I guess. Maybe the MISL Comets will move in as well and tear down Kemper Arena. What about the Royal American? "I better go take a long walk off a short pier or something."Some people on this bolard have told me to do just that.My "Ron Mexico" alias is "Jon Tobago". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ez Street Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 There is talk that the arena will be revolutionary. The local firms are working on something big. What i hear is, it will be a "Expandable Arena". Meaning the arena would go from 18,000 to 30,000. I hear there is supposedly an Arena in Japan that does this. We shall see soon enough. This is a great thing for KC! @DavidStreeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmee Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 There's a soccer stadium in Japan that, using some sort of wackjob technology, basically turns the field into a hovercraft that is then levitated away so that the hard surface underneath can be used. Crazy stuff. I forget the name, though.Looking forward to the future of Kansas City here. They seem to be a strong football market, so it'll be interesting to see how they handle other sports. Best of luck to the city. The world's foremost practitioners of professional tag-team wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAD! Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 I think that was the Saporro Dome, also the Arizona Cardinals' new stadium will have a similar moveable field. As for the arena, I'm not sure on that. The "Expandable arena" idea seems to sound like the Tacoma Dome to me. I saw, I came, I left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waffles Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Also expected the bid is a group led by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry.Ooh...can't wait to see what Gehry comes up with...I love what he did with the Brooklyn Nets project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAD! Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Also expected the bid is a group led by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry.Ooh...can't wait to see what Gehry comes up with...I love what he did with the Brooklyn Nets project. Not to mention the 2004 World Cup of Hockey Trophy.... I saw, I came, I left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yh Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 I hope this happens and I hope it's the NHL coming to town. Although the Blues-Blackhawks rivalry is great, I would love to have a cross-state rival again. KC is such a great sports town with knowledgeable, good-natured fans and they deserve to have another pro sports team to complement the Royals and Chiefs. And Tim Lieweike has KC roots - he was involved with the original Comets franchise as I recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ez Street Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Would the STL be pissed if we had NBA, and they didn't?Man a "Relocated" NHL team would rule. The question is, which team is most likely to move here. Several years ago, Mayor Emanuel Cleaver was in talks with the Penguins about them possibly moving here.I saw possbily an AHL team could be here first, then an NHL when the Sprint Center opens. @DavidStreeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ez Street Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Check this out about the Sapporo Dome......F'n Sweet!http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/...poro_dome.shtml @DavidStreeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee. Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Keen-eyed regulars may remember the Sapporo Dome standing in as the Monsanto EnormoDome, home of the ill-fated Winnipeg Pilots in the UBL Yale, do you really think hockey will fly again in KC? I remember listening to a few Moose-Blades games from the old (?) IHL days, and as I recall, Kemper was lucky to get 1500 fans out. Was it the league, the team, or fan apathy in general? Welcome to DrunjFlix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yh Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Would the STL be pissed if we had NBA, and they didn't? I don't think there would be that much uproar here if KC wound up with the NBA and we didn't. I just don't see St. Louis as an NBA market. Besides, St. Louis did embrace the Kings when they were in KC and the Kings used to play 1 or 2 regular season games at The Arena each season, and usually against a marquee opponent.St. Louis has hockey, so at least we have one major arena-class sport for the winter months - KC has nothing, so I don't think there would be much grumbling if that's what winds up occupying the Sprint Center. If anyone ends up as a target of St. Louis's wrath, it will be Bill Laurie, the owner of the Blues, who has stated that landing an NBA team is a priority of his. We won't begrudge KC their team but we'll hold Laurie accountable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ez Street Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 I went to Blades games on several occasions. They had Loyal fans, and when i went they would draw about 5,000 - 7,000 fans. But being in Krappy Kemper, it seemed empty. I think the Blades were poorly marketed, and not run well in general. KC is a big sports town, and i think fans would rather see Major League sports here. I'm postive the town would support the AHL for a few years until the NHL came to town. @DavidStreeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waffles Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Plan unveiled for downtown K.C. arenaAs the Fark headline pointed out, the arena isn't big enough to hold all the people Sprint (who pulled down the arena's naming rights) has fired in the last few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habsfannova Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 On that note, I heard the same thing when Ford Field in Detroit opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmee Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 As the Fark headline pointed out, the arena isn't big enough to hold all the people Sprint (who pulled down the arena's naming rights) has fired in the last few years. What is this...an arena for ANTS!? The real Sprint Center would have to be at least....THREE TIMES THIS SIZE! The world's foremost practitioners of professional tag-team wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 As the Fark headline pointed out, the arena isn't big enough to hold all the people Sprint (who pulled down the arena's naming rights) has fired in the last few years. What is this...an arena for ANTS!? The real Sprint Center would have to be at least....THREE TIMES THIS SIZE! HOW ARE THE CITIZENS SUPPOSED TO WATCH HOCKEY OR BASKETBALL IF THEY CAN'T EVEN FIT INSIDE THE BUILDING? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilTownMVP Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Somehow, I don't see the NBA wanting to expand or move a team into KC. The NHL might move a team there, but they definetly won't be expanding. That's not a criticism of the KC fans, but when you're a >#20 market and already have a couple teams, you don't get the benefit of the doubt the way a city like Atlanta (which doesn't give a f*** about pro sports) does.IMO, the best fit for this new arena would be an AFL team. I don't think anyone would have to do a lot of work selling KC as a football town. Dubya's thoughts on "terrorist" nations: "They never stop thinking of new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronChefShark Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 What is this...an arena for ANTS!? The real Sprint Center would have to be at least....THREE TIMES THIS SIZE! so now we have ANTS??sheesh....never a moments rest for the bugman........ US state flag concepts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmee Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 What is this...an arena for ANTS!? The real Sprint Center would have to be at least....THREE TIMES THIS SIZE! so now we have ANTS??sheesh....never a moments rest for the bugman........ I saw the BIGGEST mosquito ever earlier today, in case you were wondering. Mosquitos may be out of your area of expertise, but it was scary as woah. This was like, dinosaur-era sized mosquito. Woah. The world's foremost practitioners of professional tag-team wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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