Top priorities for KC

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Sat Aug 16, 2003 1:11 pm

While many issues have been discussed for the future of Kansas City, what are the top priorties in order? I'm not including things like the PAC, Bartle Expansion and BRT which are in progressive planning stages.

Here's mine...
1. Massive metro-wide mass transit...yes, this is a car town, but any world-class city must have an advanced system of mass transit.

2.New arena...The arena should be built very dense and cutting no corners so that we won't ever have to discuss it again.

3. Covering the freeway loop...pretend like the freeways don't exist and let the central city have no boundaries or limits.

4. The Junction...new idea, but I like it A LOT. This could be a signature spot in Kansas City filled with restaurants, shops and huge hotels.

5. Redevelop parts of the East Side...lots of old houses that are rotting. This area is never gonna be Ward Parkway, but it can still be a neat place to live.

6. The Zoo...If it means stealing personel from Omaha or St. Louis, so be it. Let's make the Kansas City Zoo the best in the country.

7. Sports complex upgrade...Kauffman tied Wrigley Field in the best stadiums and Arrowhead just got FHM's best football stadium award.

I probably missed some stuff, but these are what I see as top issues for the city.

KCDevin · Post by **KCDevin** » Sat Aug 16, 2003 7:44 pm

7. Sports complex upgrade...Kauffman tied Wrigley Field in the best stadiums and Arrowhead just got FHM's best football stadium award.

I actually think the stadiums should be downtown. It would be a major boost to have an MLB stadium, and arena downtown, IMO we shouldn't renovate kauffman and arrowhead, we should build new ones downtown (although the names kept and statues kept)
alot of cities these days have stadiums downtown, I think KC should have them too.

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 9:21 am

1. Streetscape...nobody wants to relocate or move companies/businesses to a downtown with cracked up streets, weeds through the sidewalks, etc.

2. The Convention and Arts...let's build the PAC and expand Bartle the right way instead of downgrade the original plans. In addition, work on improving Union Station and build a world-class Natural & Living History Museum. These draw conventioners, tourists and suburbanites to downtown and helps KC's image.

3. The Junction...now that we have drawn people downtown, let's keep them there with entertainment, restaurants and retail.

4. Housing...more housing for the people that want to live in a livelier downtown.

5. Schools...I can get a loft in downtown right now, but my wife says ABSOLUTELY NO KIDS if we live downtown. I'm ready to start workin' on one in the next year or two.

6. New Arena and fixing up Truman Sports Complex...a downtown arena can help us draw larger events and maybe land another major or minor league sports franchise. As far as the Truman Sports Complex, there's always other cities out there that could offer the Royals a brand new stadium if they relocate.

7. Public transportation...while it is important for some, many rely on cars. However, adding more attractions and housing downtown could influence young suburbanites to use public transit to travel to the excitement of the core instead of searching for a parking space or getting caught up in downtown's 24-7 bustling traffic.

KCDevin · Post by **KCDevin** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 9:35 am

6. New Arena and fixing up Truman Sports Complex...a downtown arena can help us draw larger events and maybe land another major or minor league sports franchise. As far as the Truman Sports Complex, there's always other cities out there that could offer the Royals a brand new stadium if they relocate.

what don't you like the royals?

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 10:17 am

KCDevin wrote:what don't you like the royals?

I love my hometown teams! What I was sayin' is that if we don't spend tax dollars to renovate these stadiums, there are other cities that will build new stadiums to draw greedy owners away from KC. I don't think Lamar Hunt will ever leave us...but I don't trust David Glass at all! It's a risk we have to take at Bi-State time. That's why I'm voting to keep my Royals in KC by renovating the Sports Complex.

KCDevin · Post by **KCDevin** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 7:11 pm

would you rather have the stadiums out in the country (well, not really in the country) or in the city? even CC would be nice for a stadium.
Even STL has an arena in its downtown, maybe if we follow the rest of America's cities our downtown would be even better.

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 8:54 pm

KCDevin wrote:would you rather have the stadiums out in the country (well, not really in the country) or in the city? even CC would be nice for a stadium.
Even STL has an arena in its downtown, maybe if we follow the rest of America's cities our downtown would be even better.

Suburban and rural stadiums are infectious diseases to downtowns as were the shopping malls in the 1960s. All stadiums and arenas should be built in America's downtowns. There is no real sense of place in a suburb...it doesn't identify a city. It's sad to see that European cities are as lively as they were before Christ.

KCDevin · Post by **KCDevin** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 9:22 pm

Suburban and rural stadiums are infectious diseases to downtowns as were the shopping malls in the 1960s. All stadiums and arenas should be built in America's downtowns.

Ok, so would you support replacing Kauffman w/ a stadium downtown?

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 9:30 pm

KCDevin wrote:Suburban and rural stadiums are infectious diseases to downtowns as were the shopping malls in the 1960s. All stadiums and arenas should be built in America's downtowns.

Ok, so would you support replacing Kauffman w/ a stadium downtown?

Only if we could build Kauffman's twin

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 10:52 pm

Yeah...let's spend $400 million dollars to build a replica of Kauffman downtown. I'd hate to see someone's credit card statements with this kind of logic.

I'm sorry to say this...when you got lemons, make lemonade. Spend the $400 million dollars on new investment around the Sports Complex. Luring Bass Pro would be a start, upgrade the roads, then knock down Blue Ridge and lure some corporate headquarters in. Make it like Crown Center East.

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 11:07 pm

trailerkid wrote:Yeah...let's spend $400 million dollars to build a replica of Kauffman downtown. I'd hate to see someone's credit card statements with this kind of logic.

Only about $8,000 in debt right now

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 12:00 am

Hey now...i'm not getting personal...I just see it as a bit of a waste of money right now. Kauffman is one of the top stadiums in baseball...now Kemper is behind Omaha, OKC, and Dallas just in the region.

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 11:25 am

trailerkid wrote:Hey now...i'm not getting personal...I just see it as a bit of a waste of money right now. Kauffman is one of the top stadiums in baseball...now Kemper is behind Omaha, OKC, and Dallas just in the region.

That's why relocating Kauffman isn't one of my priorities...jus' help fix it up so the team owners will be happy. A downtown arena is a must...as important as expanding the convention center.

tw · Post by tw » Mon Aug 18, 2003 12:18 pm

k beats busch, however, KC needs a downtown stadium IMO!

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/ballparks/busch.html

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 1:36 pm

How does our zoo stack up? People complaining because they walk miles and see very few animals? The KC Zoo should be another priority.

I compared the Kansas City Zoo with other zoos in terms of animals and acres. Currently the Kansas City Zoo sets on about 220 acres and has 900 animals (about 4 animals an acre). Here's how we stack up to other Midwestern and nearby cities in the Rockies, South and Southwest.

12. Sedwick County Zoo in Wichita - 247 acres 2,000 animals (8 animals per acre)

11. Brookfield Zoo in Chicago - 216 acres 2,800 animals (13 animals per acre)

10. Milwaukee County Zoo - 200 acres 2,500 animals (13 animals per acre)

9. Detroit Zoo - 125 acres 2,500 animals (20 animals per acre)

8. Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha - 110 acre 2,500 animals (23 animals per acre)

7. Oklahoma City Zoo - 110 acres 2,800 animals (25 animals per acre)

6. Cincinnati Zoo - 75 acres 3,300 animals (44 animals per acre)

5. Memphis Zoo - 70 acres 2,800 animals (40 animals per acre)

4. Denver Zoo 80 - acres 4,000 animals (50 animals per acre)

3. Tulsa Zoo - 82 acres 4,500 animals (55 animals per acre)

2. Indianapolis Zoo - 64 acres 3,800 animals (59 animals per acre)

1. St. Louis Zoo - 90 acres 6,000 animals (67 animals per acre)

0. Dallas Zoo - 97 acres 8,000 animals (82 animals per acre)

ShowME · Post by **ShowME** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 1:42 pm

I'm probably in the minority but I really could care less if we do build an arena. Do you honestly think we're going to get an NHL or NBA team and if we do I don't think KC can support 3 pro franchises. So if we do not get an NBA or NHL team is it worth it to build a new arena for the Big 12 tourney especially when the tourney rotates now? It was a mistake to put Kauffman stadium where it is. The only reason it's there to begin with is because the city was to cheap to pay for a BETTER location which is why it's located in a place that's generated very little economic development.

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 1:45 pm

The Minnesota Zoo is the closest compared to KC in animals per acre. They have 500 acres and 2,500 animals (4 animals an acre). However, they have an indoor rainforest and an indoor aquarium. The outside part of the zoo which sits on most of the acres is serviced by a climate-controlled monorail which takes visitors over and past each exhibit.

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 1:47 pm

ShowME wrote:I'm probably in the minority but I really could care less if we do build an arena. Do you honestly think we're going to get an NHL or NBA team and if we do I don't think KC can support 3 pro franchises. So if we do not get an NBA or NHL team is it worth it to build a new arena for the Big 12 tourney especially when the tourney rotates now? It was a mistake to put Kauffman stadium where it is. The only reason it's there to begin with is because the city was to cheap to pay for a BETTER location which is why it's located in a place that's generated very little economic development.

A downtown arena is as important as an expanded convention center. A bigger and better arena draws more concerts and events which calculates to more tourist dollars.

KC0KEK · Post by **KC0KEK** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 2:07 pm

Any music promoters on this board? I'm curious whether an arena's quality is as important as market size when major acts (e.g., Stones, Fleetwood Mac) are choosing where to play. If you build a state-of-the-art, 20,000-seat arena in, say, Springfield or Columbia, can you safely assume that major acts will consider playing there? Or will they always tend to prefer Denver, St. Louis, Dallas, Atlanta, etc. because those markets have a bigger pool of potential concert-goers than KC? Or will they consider a smaller market with an amenties-packed arena even if the market isn't big enough to suggest a sell-out?

Please, no speculation by those outside of the music biz. Looking for the perspective of those who have booked major acts at major venues.

ShowME · Post by **ShowME** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 4:05 pm

And music promoters please list the artists who wouldn't play in Kemper but would have if we built a new arena.

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