KCRag Forum

It's sad when keeping the paint nice on the convention center is considered development news.

They are setting up a cam so we can watch the paint dry.&

Bartle Hall loses some big shows

While Kansas City?s Sprint Center arena keeps bringing in healthy profits, the picture isn?t so rosy at Bartle Hall.

The Mid-American Boat Show has canceled after 50 years. Sysco Foods canceled its spring 2011 show. Other big trade shows are being eliminated or reduced, leaving a revenue shortfall for the city to make up next fiscal year.

Among the other shows being eliminated or reduced from Kansas City convention facilities:

?The Mid-America RV Show is dropping from two weekends to one in 2011.

?The Home Builders Association cut its spring Home Show from five halls to two.

?The Pet Show canceled its spring show at the American Royal.

?UMKC moved its last seven basketball games from Municipal Auditorium back to a campus gym.

?The Brute-Adidas national wrestling championship is moving from Municipal to Independence in April.

?Fewer first-run Broadway shows are on tap for the Music Hall this year.

KCMax wrote: Bartle Hall loses some big shows

Sounds more like the realities of the economy than anything that reflects on Kansas City or the quality or size of Bartle Hall. 

Sportsshow isn't as big as it used to be but does anybody really go to these shows to buy boats and RVs, don't they just look at them?

Let's see.  If people didn't buy them the distributors wouldn't be paying the big bucks to show product there.  When times were good people did buy, whether is was boats, RV's, vacations, cars, etc.

Bartle could use a renovation.......

Is the space here big enough to hold drone racing? That seems a good fit downtown. Have watched the championships and these guys are good flying drones through amazing courses.

normalthings wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 1:48 am Bartle could use a renovation.......

Expansion in Milwaukee's convention center. UC now



STL also under construction

Definitely think the convention center would benefit from a reworking a bit. It acts as a wall right now. Just wish there was a way to make the Broadway side a bit more inviting and the Barney Allis Plaza facing side a bit more active. Something like the Cervantes Center ballroom lobby (shown above) would be good, but likely not be needed. Maybe the answer to improving a bit is fairly cheap. I don't know.

KC Star is a great example of what a rebuilt Bartle could look like. Glass entrance, metal is not grey, natural light inside the structure

Why they didn't consider also expanding over Broadway on the 12th-13th street block where that parking lot has been for decades--the one where the city issued RFPs.

I saw this on a building in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and thought it would be a neat idea to put saved neon signs from around the metro on the side of Bartle Hall working with the Lumi Neon Museum.



https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5453994 ... 384!8i8192

"Why they didn't consider also expanding over Broadway on the 12th-13th street block where that parking lot has been for decades--the one where the city issued RFPs."

It was talked about decades ago but nothing seriously became of it. The city had put its money into the Conference Center and saw no need to expand further. If memory is correct the topography of that site goes uphill away from Broadway so for a Bartle building that would present some challenges on the west end. Also at one time, if memory is correct, there was a development proposal for the block approved by the city. One landowner wouldn't sell so it went to condemnation court. The landowner won, even awarded a higher price than the landowner wanted (believe the landowner was the one owning the surface lot). Developer then said forget about it and walked away. Later is when KC Southern/DST built along Washington.

Unsure of really where else to put this, but seems someone from KC is trying to entice a new Aviation vent to come to town, requiring 40,000sqft. Couldn’t really find more details from the tweet other than that. Link below:

https://x.com/omgedson/status/1691294187604279296?s=46

Early discussions of a convention center expansion, remodel, and/or rebuild. Kansas City is realistically looking at a major overhaul of Bartle and mid-life renovation of T-Mobile Center. Mayor wants to renovate.

Bartle Hall is 50 year old and the expansion turned 30 this year. Will be 60 and 40 years old by the time a major overhaul or replacement is complete. We have a history of putting lipstick on a pig renovations. Think we should just rip the band-aid off today and do what needs to get done.

What needs to get done? It is not like the airport terminal where it just was not functional and had to be replaced.

Build a new convention center into the North Loop trench. Close either end to the highway system, build your exhibition halls and parking garages right where the highway road is now, street grid at the surface level. Doesn't need light though you could have skylights on the roof, would have connection to the streetcar and would have some cost savings because of inground build.

What do you do about all the hotels that have built their convention business around the current location being walkable--Loew's and Marriott for example?

One of the major justifications for the Power & Light District was luring more convention business to the existing location. You are advocating a convention center six blocks away instead of the current two.