KCRag Forum

I'm really excited that the taxpayers are going to be able to have the opportunity to subsidize this beautiful new playground for the wealthy instead of tearing the eyesore down.

Unfortunately, I predict that half the claims of what it will feature will never materialize and the entire thing will sadly fail in the end.

http://mosaicarena.net/

I'm going to guess you were the last to picked for the team.

Was the move in venue and dates worth it? Seems like it was low key again.

brewcrew1000 wrote:Was the move in venue and dates worth it? Seems like it was low key again.

Other than the BBQ, only one event has been held with 15 to go.

I wouldn't call that low key, I would call it jumping the gun. Ask in December when everything is over.

I didn't even realize there were 15 other events, show how poorly the advertise this event

brewcrew1000 wrote:I didn't even realize there were 15 other events, show how poorly the advertise this event

They do a really bad job at PR overall though. Too many orgs are stuck around relying on the newspaper and other passive PR methods.

brewcrew1000 wrote:Was the move in venue and dates worth it? Seems like it was low key again.

Are you talking about the BBQ?

I think the move to Labor Day weekend was a big mistake. It seemed the crowd Friday night was about half what it was last year. Either people were out of town, or there was too much else going on.

The speedway location isn't horrible. There is plenty of room. But it lacks the gritty character of the west bottoms. It's like the difference of eating BBQ at LC's or Jack Stack. You get a good meal either way, but two vastly different experiences.

KCLofts wrote:

brewcrew1000 wrote:Was the move in venue and dates worth it? Seems like it was low key again.

Are you talking about the BBQ?

I think the move to Labor Day weekend was a big mistake. It seemed the crowd Friday night was about half what it was last year. Either people were out of town, or there was too much else going on.

The speedway location isn't horrible. There is plenty of room. But it lacks the gritty character of the west bottoms. It's like the difference of eating BBQ at LC's or Jack Stack. You get a good meal either way, but two vastly different experiences.

It's like the difference between the east side Arthur Bryant's and the Legend's Arthur Bryant's.

Official groundbreaking for the project was today.

https://twitter.com/MAugustineKMBC/stat ... 8502136833

Are you talking about the BBQ?

I think the move to Labor Day weekend was a big mistake. It seemed the crowd Friday night was about half what it was last year. Either people were out of town, or there was too much else going on.

The speedway location isn't horrible. There is plenty of room. But it lacks the gritty character of the west bottoms. It's like the difference of eating BBQ at LC's or Jack Stack. You get a good meal either way, but two vastly different experiences.

I'd be interested in hearing more opinions on the BBQ move to Labor Day weekend. Seems to me like a big mistake as well. Royal BBQ should be a fall event; huddled around a fire pit with smoke and chill in the air, trains rumbling past in the bottoms.

I understand the desire to have the BBQ on a holiday weekend, and "kick-off", rather than end, the Royal season with it, but it just doesn't feel right.

I went to the Speedway last year and had a blast - thought the venue was acceptable if lacking the west bottoms character the Royal should have. But to further mess with tradition and host at the end of summer...not so sure. I was hoping the upshot of the unseemly move to KS would be continued growth for the Royal and especially the BBQ, but the verdict is very much undecided...

Moving was never going to lead to growth for the Royal overall because the venue isn't the problem. All their opportunity for growth would have been possible without moving.

Their problem is they stopped being able to draw attendees in any number to anything except the BBQ contest so the entire financial stability was reliant on that one event.

They're dumb and should fail. I have no sympathy for their firm.

rxlexi wrote:

Are you talking about the BBQ?

I think the move to Labor Day weekend was a big mistake. It seemed the crowd Friday night was about half what it was last year. Either people were out of town, or there was too much else going on.

The speedway location isn't horrible. There is plenty of room. But it lacks the gritty character of the west bottoms. It's like the difference of eating BBQ at LC's or Jack Stack. You get a good meal either way, but two vastly different experiences.

I'd be interested in hearing more opinions on the BBQ move to Labor Day weekend. Seems to me like a big mistake as well. Royal BBQ should be a fall event; huddled around a fire pit with smoke and chill in the air, trains rumbling past in the bottoms.

I understand the desire to have the BBQ on a holiday weekend, and "kick-off", rather than end, the Royal season with it, but it just doesn't feel right.

I went to the Speedway last year and had a blast - thought the venue was acceptable if lacking the west bottoms character the Royal should have. But to further mess with tradition and host at the end of summer...not so sure. I was hoping the upshot of the unseemly move to KS would be continued growth for the Royal and especially the BBQ, but the verdict is very much undecided...

I assist in the planning for one of the larger parties at this event and the company this year decided to sit out because of the conflict with the holiday. The new date was met with overwhelming negativity and getting commitments from volunteers proved to be an uphill battle. Most refused to give up their annual Labor Day plans seeing as the four day weekend at the end of summer is a big deal at the office. Was also told there were some large companies that opted out for similar reasons. Will be interesting to see if there was enough pushback to force the Royal to change the date..again.

The West Bottoms was far and away the best venue for this event. The grit of the neighborhood and the atmosphere were all great in the Bottoms. Most of the feedback from Arrowhead was horrible, but the Speedway seems to be serviceable. Especially because of its location to many of the Joco attendees who hated the traffic of the Bottoms.

KCMOJoe89 wrote:

rxlexi wrote:

Are you talking about the BBQ?

The West Bottoms was far and away the best venue for this event. The grit of the neighborhood and the atmosphere were all great in the Bottoms. Most of the feedback from Arrowhead was horrible, but the Speedway seems to be serviceable. Especially because of its location to many of the Joco attendees who hated the traffic of the Bottoms.

The bottoms work for a variety of reasons. I hope it comes back. Can't believe people thought the traffic was bad. There are several ways in and out - it can't be that difficult.

Highlander wrote:

KCMOJoe89 wrote:

rxlexi wrote:

The bottoms work for a variety of reasons. I hope it comes back. Can't believe people thought the traffic was bad. There are several ways in and out - it can't be that difficult.

There's four paths back to the west and they all require knowing how to get there.

It's not like downtown where you can hit the exits from any street. Like the 12th St viaduct has only so many connection points, you can't get on all the N-S streets and get to it direct.

The bottoms are a triangle of roads with broken connections and rail lines at an angle in multiple places

Highlander wrote:

KCMOJoe89 wrote:

rxlexi wrote:

The bottoms work for a variety of reasons. I hope it comes back. Can't believe people thought the traffic was bad. There are several ways in and out - it can't be that difficult.

When Kemper had large crowds it was a big mess leaving the West Bottoms. I could take an hour after the event for the parking lots to empty out. And if there was a late coming crowd for an event it would be a long time for many to park and enter the arena.

Mosaic gave up its' naming rights, so Kemper will retain the name for now until another naming opportunity is found.

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... arket.html

Photo Update: $39M Kemper Arena renovation ahead of schedule and under budget

Foutch Brothers LLC's $39 million renovation of the former Kemper Arena into a two-level youth and amateur sports facility is ahead of schedule and under budget, according to CEO Steve Foutch.

Foutch Brothers acquired Kemper Arena from Kansas City earlier this year. Construction of the steel for the building’s second level began last week and Foutch estimates that the project is at least 25 percent complete.

...

The arena is scheduled to open in September. An international pickleball tournament will be the first user of the new venue. Its event it scheduled for Sept. 20.

https://tinyurl.com/y9v6wul6

Under budget and ahead of schedule.

Might be open earlier than september

The developers are having a press conference at 2p today. Local news is speculating that a new name announcment will be made.