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Sprint Center

"Giving Kansas City Reason to Cheer"
Location	1407 Grand Boulevard Kansas City, Missouri 64106 United States
Coordinates	39°05′51″N 94°34′49″W / 39.0975°N 94.58028°W / 39.0975; -94.58028Coordinates: 39°05′51″N 94°34′49″W / 39.0975°N 94.58028°W / 39.0975; -94.58028
Broke ground	June 24, 2005
Opened	October 10, 2007
Owner	Kansas City, Missouri (city-government owned)
Operator	Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG)
Construction cost	US$276 million
Architect	Downtown Arena Design Team: 360 Architecture Ellerbe Becket[1] Populous[2] (formerly HOK Sport) Rafael Architects
Capacity	19,252 (concerts) 18,555 (basketball) 17,752 (hockey) 17,297 (arena football)
Tenants
Kansas City Brigade (AFL) (2008) 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Sprint Center is a large, multi-use indoor arena in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. ^[3] The building is located at 14th Street and Grand Boulevard, on the east side of the Power & Light District. The arena's naming rights partner is the telecommunications company Sprint, whose 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. ^{[4] [5]} The arena seats over 19,000 people and has 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, is connected to and located directly north of Sprint Center.

Sprint Center hosted the 2008 Big 12 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.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Details 2 Arena users 2.1 Concerts 2.2 Possible major-league sports 2.3 Other sporting events 2.4 Other events 3 Transportation 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Details

Ground was broken for the arena on June 24, 2005, and construction completed on October 11, 2007. The final design, by the Downtown Arena Design Team (a collaboration of the architectural firms Populous (then HOK Sport), 360 Architecture, Rafael Architects and Ellerbe Becket), was selected in August 2005. The construction manager responsible for the entire project was M.A. Mortenson Company, based out of Minneapolis, 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 to Architectural Wall Systems, the Des Moines, Iowa based glazing contractor who installed the building envelope. 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 (KCMAC).

The Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held at Sprint Center in 2008, marking the tournament's return to Kansas City after three years in Dallas and Oklahoma City.

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 Sprint Center, but as of yet no definitive plans have been announced.

Sprint Center opened on time and on budget on October 10 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.

[edit] Arena users

[edit] Concerts

Sprint Center has hosted many concerts since opening. The most well known of which are:

• Elton John - October 13, 2007 (Sold out in 90 minutes)
• Rascal Flatts - October 25, 2007
• Garth Brooks - November 5-12 and 14, 2007 (All nine shows sold out in under two hours) (November 14 show was broadcast live in movie theaters)
• Hannah Montana-Miley Cyrus with opening act Jonas Brothers - December 3, 2007 (Sold out in nine minutes)
• Ozzy Osbourne with Rob Zombie December 11, 2007
• Jonas Brothers February 28, 2008
• Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood - March 5, 2008
• Bon Jovi - April 17 and 22, 2008
• The Police - May 13, 2008
• Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - August 24, 2008
• American Idol - August 29, 2008 and August 30, 2008
• Tina Turner - October 1 and 8, 2008 (First show sold out in two minutes)
• Luis Miguel - October 18, 2008
• Janet Jackson with opening act LL Cool J - October 24, 2008
• Metallica - October 25, 2008
• The Eagles - November 9, 2008
• New Kids on the Block with Lady GaGa - November 11, 2008
• Coldplay - November 13, 2008
• Celine Dion - January 3, 2009 (Sold out) (Rescheduled from November 15, 2008) Highest-grossing concert at Sprint Center.
• Lil Wayne with opening acts T-Pain, Keyshia Cole, Gym Class Heroes, Keri Hilson, Gorilla Zoe - January 9, 2009
• AC/DC- January 21, 2009 (Sold out)
• Britney Spears with opening act Pussycat Dolls - April 2, 2009 (Sold out)
• Nickelback with opening acts Seether and Saving Abel - April 8, 2009 (Sold out)
• Fleetwood Mac - May 8, 2009
• Demi Lovato with opening act David Archuleta - July 22, 2009
• Jonas Brothers with opening acts Honor Society, Wondergirls, and Jordin Sparks - July 29, 2009
• Toby Keith And Trace Adkins - July 31, 2009
• Keith Urban And Taylor Swift - August 8, 2009 (Sold out)
• Cruefest 2 with Motley Crue, Godsmack, Theory Of A Deadman, and Charm City Devils - August 9, 2009
• Green Day - August 12, 2009
• American Idols LIVE! Tour - August 30, 2009
• Dave Matthews Band with opening act Willie Nelson - September 30, 2009
• Miley Cyrus with opening act Metro Station - October 17, 2009

[edit] Possible major-league sports

William "Boots" Del Biaggio, III, made an offer to purchase the Nashville Predators of the NHL with the intention of bringing the team to the Sprint Center.^[6] However, Del Biaggio has since joined a group of Nashville investors in an effort to keep the Predators in Nashville.^[7] In June 2008 Kansas City's hopes to land the Predators took another blow as Del Biaggio ran into legal trouble over a multitude of unpaid loans, culminating in him filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, effectively ending any chance of Del Biaggio moving the Predators to Missouri. On 10 January 2007, it was reported that the Los Angeles Clippers have taken an interest in moving to the stadium.^[8] New York Islanders owner Charles Wang announced the Islanders will play a preseason game September 22, 2009 at the Sprint Center against the Los Angeles Kings. Local media reported that anonymous team sources stated the game was a test of the Kansas City market.^[9]

[edit] Other sporting events

• The CBE Classic is held every year at Sprint Center. The event was held on 19 November 2007 and 20 November 2007. It was also held 24 November 2008 and 25 November 2008.

• AVP Pro Beach Volleyball's Hot Winter Nights Tour was held at the Sprint Center on 12 January 2008.

• The PBR holds a Built Ford Tough Series event at the Sprint Center annually since 2008. Prior to 2008 the event was held at the Kemper Arena.

• The Kansas City Brigade of the Arena Football League played their 2008 season at Sprint Center.

[edit] Other events

• The Arena hosted the general sessions of the 2009 National Catholic Youth Conference, a biannual event which hosts over 20,000 Catholic youth from across the country. The general sessions were held in conjunction with the Kansas City Convention Center, where overflow seating was offered.

[edit] Transportation

The arena's vicinity is served by five interstate highways:

• Interstate 35
• Interstate 70
• Interstate 435
• Interstate 670
• Interstate 29

and three U.S. Routes:

• U.S. Route 24
• U.S. Route 40
• U.S. Route 71

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.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• sprintcenter.com, official website
• Anschutz Entertainment Group
• The Moons, Public Art Project by Chris Doyle

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