Sprint Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sprint Center | |
|---|---|
| "Giving Kansas City Reason to Cheer" | |
| Location | 1407 Grand Boulevard Kansas City, MO 64106 |
| Broke ground | June 24, 2005 |
| Opened | October 10, 2007 |
| Owner | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Operator | AEG |
| Construction cost | $276 million |
| Architect | Downtown Arena Design Team: 360 Architecture Ellerbe Becket HOK Sport Rafael Architects |
| Tenants | Kansas City Brigade (AFL) (2008-) |
| Capacity | |
Sprint Center[1] is a large, multi-use indoor arena in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. [2] The building is located at 14th Street & Grand Boulevard, on the east side of the Power & Light District. The arena's title sponsor is the telecommunications company Sprint, whose world headquarters is in nearby Overland Park, Kansas.
Sprint Center opened to the public on October 10, 2007, and a concert on October 13, 2007 by Elton John was the first event held at the arena. [3] [4] The arena is estimated to seat 18,500 people and have 72 suites. Sprint Center has effectively replaced Kemper Arena, which was built in 1974 just a few miles away in the southern portion of the West Bottoms. Additionally, the College Basketball Experience, which includes the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame will be connected to and located directly north of Sprint Center.
The Sprint Center hosted the 2008 Big 12 Conference men's basketball tournament, and in addition will host the first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Men's Tournament and the regional rounds of the 2010 NCAA Women's Tournament.
Kansas City has also entered into discussions with the NHL and the NBA regarding possible expansion or relocation of a professional hockey and/or basketball franchise for the arena.
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[edit] Details
Ground was broken for the arena on June 24, 2005, and construction completed on October 10, 2007. The final design, by the Downtown Arena Design Team (a collaboration of the architectural firms 360 Architecture, Ellerbe Becket and HOK Sport), was selected in August 2005. The construction manager responsible for the entire project was M.A. Mortenson Company, based out of Minneapoils, MN. The complete exterior glass facade system, all metal panels for the adjacent buildings and all accessory metal cladding was custom designed, detailed and supplied by Overgaard Ltd., Hong Kong. In total there is approximately 13.000m² (139,932 square feet) of double insulated glass and 5.000m² (53,820 square feet) painted aluminum curtain wall panels. In addition there are roughly 200 tons of system profiles and accessories. All of the 2,404 individual glass units on the main building where produced sequentially and completely assembled prior to shipping. The arena also features a work of public art, The Moons, by artist Chris Doyle, commissioned by the Kansas City Municipal Arts Commission.
The Big 12 Conference men's basketball tournament will take place at the Sprint Center in 2008, marking the tournament's return to Kansas City after three years in Dallas and Oklahoma City. Women's basketball will take place at the nearby Municipal Auditorium.
The arena also houses the headquarters of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Which, is located at 1301 Grand Boulevard connected to the Sprint Center.
The outside of the arena is entirely glass. Inside it has state of the art technology with a 360 degree LED video screen. This facility allows Kansas City to draw most concerts touring the United States. There has been speculation of an NBA or NHL team relocating to the Sprint Center, but as of yet no definitive plans have been announced. The city was given an NHL franchise in 1974, the Kansas City Scouts, but the Scouts moved in 1976 to Colorado, and eventually to New Jersey. [5] [6]. In 1972, the Cincinnati Royals basketball team moved to Kansas City to become the Kings. The NBA franchise left for Sacramento, California after the 1985 season.
Sprint Center opened on time and on budget on October 10th at 10:10 am. A tour lasted from 10:10 am - 10:10 pm for those who wanted to see it to grab a ticket at the box office. The tour consisted of the College Basketball Experience, two open concession stands: "Taco Taco" and "Oak Street Pizza"; a free drink from UMB Bank and other free items: a UMB Bank cup, a UMB Bank frisbee, and a UMB Bank ice scraper. UMB Bank is the only ATM in the new arena because it is a Sprint Center Founding Partner along with Farmland, The University of Kansas Hospital, QuikTrip, and Olevia. There are other Sprint Center Founding Partners: H&R Block, Toyota, American Century Investments, YRC Worldwide, and Time Warner Cable of Kansas City. The highest food price is around $9.00 and many visitors have found out that they can see every event from anywhere they sit.
[edit] Arena users
[edit] Concerts
Elton John served as the Sprint Center's first act on 13 October 2007. This concert sold out in the first 90 minutes of the tickets being on sale. Garth Brooks performed nine shows between 5 November 2007 and 14 November 2007. The original show was scheduled for the last date of the nine day run, and the other eight were added in response to high demand. Brooks' show on 14 November was broadcast live in movie theaters all around the world. Hannah Montana's show on 3 December 2007 sold out in 9 minutes, and became controversial due to the high percentage of tickets purchased by scalpers; tickets offered for resale reached prices as high as $2,000. Tina Turner will begin her first tour in eight years with the Sprint Center being her first concert date on October 1st, 2008, tickets for this venue sold out in a record 2 minutes. Tina Turner will also perform at the Sprint Center on October 8th, 2008 for the second time of her Live In Concert Tour.
[edit] Arena Football League
The Kansas City Brigade announced that they will move from their current home at Kemper Arena to Sprint Center beginning with the 2008 season. The Sprint Center will be able to hold 17,297 people for Arena Football and will also have 72 sold out suites. [7]
[edit] Possible major-league sports
William "Boots" Del Biaggio, Jr. made an offer to purchase the Nashville Predators of the NHL with the intention of bringing the team to the Sprint Center.[8] However, Del Biaggio has since joined a group of Nashville investors in an effort to keep the Predators in Nashville.[9] On 10 January 2007, three NBA teams were reported to have taken an interest in relocating: the Los Angeles Clippers, the Seattle SuperSonics, and an as-yet-unnamed franchise. [10]
[edit] Other Sporting Events
- The CBE Classic was held at Sprint Center on 19 November 2007 and 20 November 2007.
- AVP Pro Beach Volleyball's Hot Winter Nights Tour held at the Sprint Center on 12 January 2008.
- WWE Smackdown! and ECW was held at Sprint Center on 23 October 2007.
[edit] Transportation
The arena's vicinity is served by five interstate highways:
and three U.S. Routes:
Kansas City International Airport, originally named Mid-Continent International Airport, is located 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Downtown Kansas City in Platte County, Missouri.
The area also is served by the KCATA's bus rapid transit (BRT) line, the Metro Area Express, or MAX , which began service in 1 July 2005. MAX links the River Market, Downtown, Union Station, Crown Center, Waldo, and the Country Club Plaza. By design, MAX operates and is marketed more like a rail system than a local bus line. A unique identity was created for MAX, including 13 modern diesel buses and easily identifiable “stations". MAX features state-of-the-art technology to deliver customers a high level of reliability, speed and comfort. Dedicated lanes during rush hour help give MAX a rapid, smooth ride, and special traffic signalization holds a green light longer, only if needed, to keep MAX on schedule. Limited stops resulted in reduced travel time between Downtown and the Plaza to about 10 minutes. MAX runs seven days a week from 5am to 1am. During rush hour periods, the buses make stops roughly every 10 minutes. The one-way fare is $1.25.
[edit] External links
- Sprint Center official website
- Anschutz Entertainment Group
- Sprint Center construction webcam
- Power And Light District construction Webcam
- The Moons, Public Art Project by Chris Doyle
[edit] References
- Kansas City in the Mix for Sonics - May 22, 2007 - Source: Kansas City Star
- Lemieux Meets With Kansas City Officials - January 3, 2007 - Source: TSN.ca
- Kansas City offers Penguins free rent, ownership stake - January 4, 2007 - Source: ESPN.com
- Penguins to aggressively explore relocation - March 5, 2007 - Source: ESPN.com
- Kansas City offers Penguins free rent - Source CBC
- ^ The arena is officially known as Sprint Center without "the"
- ^ Ahttp://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&addtohistory=&address=E%2014th%20St%20%26%20Grand%20Blvd&city=Kansas%20City&state=MO&zipcode=64106&country=US&geodiff=1
- ^ Elton John made Saturday night alright for a concert Kansas City Star, 13 October 2007.
- ^ Elton John to open Sprint Center Kansas City Star, 26 July 2007.
- ^ Covitz, Randy. Penguins owner says team will ‘explore relocation options’ Kansas City Star, 21 December 2006.
- ^ Conte, Andrew. Kansas City woos Penguins Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 15 December 2006.
- ^ Brigade plans move to Sprint Center Kansas City Star, 22 May 2007.
- ^ Duhatschek, Eric. Balsillie shouldn't overplay his hand Globe and Mail, 13 June
- ^ ESPN.com news services. Bettman says board could vote on Predators bid by November ESPN.com, 20 September 2007
- ^ Other Teams Express Interest in Sprint Center KMBC Channel 9 Kansas City, 10 January 2007.
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