Sprint Center

Sprint Center

Location	1407 Grand Boulevard Kansas City, Missouri 64106 United States
Coordinates	39°05′51″N 94°34′49″W / 39.09750°N 94.58028°W / 39.09750; -94.58028Coordinates: 39°05′51″N 94°34′49″W / 39.09750°N 94.58028°W / 39.09750; -94.58028
Owner	City of Kansas City (city-government owned)
Operator	Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG)
Capacity	19,252 (concerts) 18,972 (basketball) 17,544 (hockey)[1] 17,297 (arena football)
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground	June 24, 2005
Opened	October 10, 2007
Construction cost	$276 million[2] ($316 million in 2016 dollars[3])
Architect	Downtown Arena Design Team: Populous 360 Architecture Ellerbe Becket[4] Rafael Architects
Project manager	ICON Venue Group[5]
Structural engineer	Walter P Moore[6]
Services engineer	M-E Engineers, Inc.[7]
General contractor	Mortenson Construction Facade Design & Supply = Overgaard Ltd.
Tenants
Kansas City Command (AFL) (2008, 2011–2012) Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament (2008, 2010–present)

Sprint Center is a large, multi-use indoor arena in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.^[8] 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 by Elton John three days later was the first event held at the arena.^[9][10] The arena seats more than 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 has hosted the 2008 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament. It also hosted the first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Men's Tournament and 2013 NCAA Men's Tournament, as well as the regional rounds of the 2010 NCAA Women's Tournament. The arena also served as the home of the former Kansas City Command of the Arena Football League (AFL).

The city of Kansas City has entered into discussions with the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) regarding possible expansion or relocation of a professional hockey and/or basketball franchise for the arena; however, neither the NHL nor the NBA have yet to approve a team to play in the Sprint Center.^[11][12]

Details

Sprint Center entrance from Grand Boulevard in 2008.

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, 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, Minnesota.

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 are approximately 13,000 m² (139,932 square feet) of double insulated glass and 5,000 m² (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 were produced sequentially and completely assembled prior to shipping. The 5,000,000 lbs of rebar used in construction was detailed, farbricated and supplied by The Carter-Waters Corporation of Kansas City. 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. After returning to Oklahoma City in 2009, the Sprint Center again hosted the tournament in 2010 and 2011. It is scheduled to be the tournament host site through 2016.

The arena also houses the College Basketball Experience and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, which is located at 1301 Grand Boulevard and connected to 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 and/or NHL team relocating to Sprint Center, but no definitive plans have been announced yet.

Sprint Center opened on time and on budget on October 10, 2007 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.

Photos of the arena

• 

  2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship.

• 

  Sprint Center and Power & Light District looking from the convention center in 2011.

• 

  2016 Built Ford Tough PBR Kansas City Clash

Arena users

Notable concerts

• On October 13, 2007, Elton John performed the inaugural concert to a crowd that sold out in less than 90 minutes.
• Garth Brooks performed nine sold out shows on November 5–12 & 14, 2007. All shows sold out in under two hours. The November 14 show was broadcast live in movie theatres across the United States.
• Tina Turner performed her first live concert in 8 years to a sold-out crowd at the Sprint Center on October 1, 2008 as part of her 50th Anniversary Tour. She returned to the Sprint Center a week later on Oct. 8 to perform an additional show.^[13]
• The February 27, 2010 concert of Elton John & Billy Joel holds the record for highest grossing show at the arena.
• Roger Waters performed The Wall Live, the highest-grossing tour of all time by a solo artist, at The Sprint Center on October 30, 2010, to a sold out crowd.
• Foo Fighters performed at the arena on August 30th, 2011 and August 21st, 2015. Both shows were picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church to which the band offered counter protests of their own.
• Jason Aldean's performance on March 17, 2012 holds the record for concert with the highest attendance, with over 18,000 guests in attendance.
• Madonna played a sold out show on October 30, 2012. It marked the pop icon's first ever Kansas City performance.^[14]
• Paul McCartney performed his first show in Kansas City in nearly four years at Sprint Center on July 16, 2014, playing for nearly two hours and forty five minutes to a sold out crowd.^[15]
• Taylor Swift played a total of six sold out shows at the Sprint Center. She played two shows on the Fearless Tour on August 8, 2009 & April 2, 2010, two on The Red Tour on August 2 & 3, 2013, and two on The 1989 World Tour on September 21 & 22, 2015.
• Chris Brown - The R&B/Pop sensation kicked off his One Hell Of a Nite Tour on August 12, 2015, at the Sprint Center to a sold out crowd, along with supporting acts Fetty Wap and Kid Ink.
• AC/DC played their final show with Brian Johnson as lead vocalist at Sprint Center to a sold out show on February 28, 2016.
• Selena Gomez performed her Revival Tour on July 1, 2016.
• Twenty One Pilots performed their Emotional Roadshow World Tour on July 10, 2016.
• Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas performed their Future Now Tour on August 6, 2016.
• Toni Braxton performed her The Hits Tour on October 14, 2016.
• Ariana Grande is set to perform for her Dangerous Woman Tour on March 18, 2017.
• Roger Waters is set to perform here for his Us + Them Tour on May 26, 2017. ^[16]
• Coldplay is set to perform for their A Head Full of Dreams Tour on August 14, 2017.

Possible major-league sports

The Kansas City Brigade played at the Sprint Center for one season before the original AFL folded after the 2008 postseason. However, the revamped AFL brought arena football back to the Sprint Center in 2011, with the team playing as the Kansas City Command.

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.^[17] However, Del Biaggio has since joined a group of Nashville investors in an effort to keep the Predators in Nashville.^[18] 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 January 10, 2007, it was reported that the Los Angeles Clippers have taken an interest in moving to the arena.^[19] 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.^[20] In 2007, Kansas City and the Sprint Center also attempted to attract relocation of the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the Penguins reached a deal with the City of Pittsburgh to build a new arena, the Consol Energy Center, and stay in Western Pennsylvania. The Sprint Center had also been looked at as a possible relocation spot for the NBA's New Orleans Hornets and the Sacramento Kings (the latter of which had previously played in Kansas City) before both teams settled their local issues.^[21][22]

Despite losing out on pro teams, the NBA and NHL have held preseason games at Sprint Center. The most recent NHL preseason game, between the St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals, took place on October 5th, 2016; the most recent NBA preseason game, between the Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves, took place on the 8th.

Other sporting events

• The CBE Classic is held every year at Sprint Center. The event was first held on November 19, 2007 and November 20, 2007.
• AVP Pro Beach Volleyball's Hot Winter Nights Tour was held at Sprint Center on January 12, 2008.
• The PBR holds a Built Ford Tough Series event at Sprint Center annually since 2008. Prior to 2008, the event was held at Kemper Arena.
• The Kansas City Brigade of the Arena Football League played their 2008 season at Sprint Center. They returned in 2011 after the 2009 AFL season was canceled due to financial reasons and the 2010 season saw Kansas City decide to take a break from Arena Football. The team shut down after the 2012 season.
• The NCAA Women's Volleyball Final Four was held at the Sprint Center on December 16 and 18, 2010.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins faced the Los Angeles Kings on September 27, 2011 in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,779. The Penguins won the NHL pre-season game 3-2 in a shootout.^[23]

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.
• World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) hosted the last ever episode of WWE's ECW on Syfy on February 16, 2010. WWE's new Pay Per view (PPV) WWE Money in the Bank was held at the arena on Sunday July 18, 2010. World Wrestling Entertainment also hosted a Monday Night Raw Super Show here on September 26, 2011.
• On Friday June 8 and Saturday June 9 of 2012, it played host to the Kansas City audition stages in the second season of the Fox singer search programme The X Factor.

Transportation

Kansas City International Airport is located 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Downtown Kansas City in Platte County, Missouri.

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

• I-29
• I-35
• I-70
• I-670

and four US routes:

• US 24
• US 40
• US 71
• US 169

References

External links

• sprintcenter.com, official website
• Anschutz Entertainment Group
• The Moons, Public Art Project by Chris Doyle
• Overgaard Ltd. / Facade Design & Supply