KC's vibe - big city or small town? Or both? (Kansas City: rental car, rental)

[pacificwhim]

I've lived in Southern California and Seattle, and KC is a perfect hybrid of big and small. L.A. is overwhelming and impossible to navigate. Seattle is an ideal size but very expensive. KC has the big city vitality and amenities but is cozy enough and low-cost enough to be easy to live in.

[OmahaIsTheBestKCSucks]

I've lived in Omaha all my life and i absoulty hate KC. All the people there are super snobby. When they visit Omaha and their like i think KC is better. Well thats because you don't know the city. Omaha is home to the Old Market (Kc has the sucky Power and light district-nice try, but its just a bunch of bars)And the Old Market has world class dining, shopping, and plenty of family activities. We also have the BEST zoo in the WORLD, thats right OUR zoo puts YOUR zoo to shame. We also have a new beautiful river front (KC's riverfront is a bunch of factory's) We have the Joslyn Art Museum that has been called by many as good as the Nation Gallery. we have the Durham Museum in our old train station(in Omaha we don't tear down old buildings we fix them) So KC, sorry to say this but your time in the spot light is up Omaha's coming after you.

[shindig]

Originally Posted by OmahaIsTheBestKCSucks

I've lived in Omaha all my life and i absoulty hate KC. All the people there are super snobby. When they visit Omaha and their like i think KC is better. Well thats because you don't know the city. Omaha is home to the Old Market (Kc has the sucky Power and light district-nice try, but its just a bunch of bars)And the Old Market has world class dining, shopping, and plenty of family activities. We also have the BEST zoo in the WORLD, thats right OUR zoo puts YOUR zoo to shame. We also have a new beautiful river front (KC's riverfront is a bunch of factory's) We have the Joslyn Art Museum that has been called by many as good as the Nation Gallery. we have the Durham Museum in our old train station(in Omaha we don't tear down old buildings we fix them) So KC, sorry to say this but your time in the spot light is up Omaha's coming after you.

LOL....recess must be out.

[pacificwhim]

Originally Posted by OmahaIsTheBestKCSucks

I've lived in Omaha all my life and i absoulty hate KC. All the people there are super snobby. When they visit Omaha and their like i think KC is better. Well thats because you don't know the city. Omaha is home to the Old Market (Kc has the sucky Power and light district-nice try, but its just a bunch of bars)And the Old Market has world class dining, shopping, and plenty of family activities. We also have the BEST zoo in the WORLD, thats right OUR zoo puts YOUR zoo to shame. We also have a new beautiful river front (KC's riverfront is a bunch of factory's) We have the Joslyn Art Museum that has been called by many as good as the Nation Gallery. we have the Durham Museum in our old train station(in Omaha we don't tear down old buildings we fix them) So KC, sorry to say this but your time in the spot light is up Omaha's coming after you.

I'm trying to decide if this is satire.

[TabulaRasa]

Um...yeah.

[kcmo]

I like Omaha, but comparing Omaha to Kansas City is like Comparing Kansas City to Chicago

[iamjacobm]

Not all Omahans are that insane. KC vibes big city, the vast number of urban pockets and interesting neighborhoods reinforce that. The streetcar will simply help that big city vibe. I suppose the only "big city" thing missing from KC is no downtown sports team.

[Parkerlewis33]

Originally Posted by iamjacobm

Not all Omahans are that insane. KC vibes big city, the vast number of urban pockets and interesting neighborhoods reinforce that. The streetcar will simply help that big city vibe. I suppose the only "big city" thing missing from KC is no downtown sports team.

Yes, downtown KC definitely needs a sports team. It would definitely help move KC into the next category as far as "Big City" feel. However, it's going to be extremely hard for Kansas City to get professional basketball or hockey into the Sprint Center... small market, overwhelming loyal NCAA base and the poor economic health of the metro. I think it can and will happen at some point. With that said, a good start would be to move the existing stadiums to the downtown area. It will undoubtedly spur economic growth for downtown Kansas City. It helped downtown Denver considerably when Coors field, Pepsi Center and Invesco field were built. Invesco may be on across the interstate, but there are several easy ways to walk there from lower downtown. Not to mention you can jump on the light rail from anywhere downtown and be there in 5-10 minutes. Game days are huge for all bars and restaurants in downtown Denver. There are people everywhere for several hours before and after. Since the Chiefs have such good attendance you can only imagine what Power & Light would look like in addition to the Plaza and Midtown. It certainly couldn't hurt the Royals attendance to have it closer to the population that has the economic ability to attend more games... yes that is a reference to the great Johnson County. I will say that while I was in Lawrence I would have attended many more Royals games if I wouldn't have had to fight the traffic half way to St Louis. I'm not sure if I've seen the first inning of a Royals game since I was in high school.

The addition of the stadiums downtown Kansas City would certainly increase the estimated ridership for the streetcar and the proposed expansions lines. The ridership expectations are extremely low, even for a starter line. Without the expansion lines it kind of seems like a streetcar to nowhere. It will be an afterthought and novelty item for many people that actually use it. Phase I will not give the metro area an idea of what a real transit system is and I fear without Nextracks being built simultaneously, there will be a long delay in expansion. I won't get into my thoughts on that, but I have many of them. Anyway, the more TOD the better. A football and baseball stadium would be a great start for TOD on the KC Streetcar line. I know that sports teams can't make a train system, but they can help for 90 days a year and hopefully an additional 10-20 days. My math says that will help cover ridership for 1/4 of the year. Plenty of Plaza residents and visitors would jump on the streetcar and ride on down to the stadiums.

I'm sure I've committed sacrilege by even bringing up the idea of tearing down Kaufman and moving Arrowhead causing a threat to tailgating. You can still tailgate and have the additional option of going to other places as well. I do it an Invesco all the time, but I usually end up in LODO after the game and I don't have to cab to do it. In my opinion this needs to be done for the health of the city and more importantly the teams. I mean team... Royals. I love Kaufman, but that love for the stadium isn't going to help them win. Attendance is going to help them win. Heck, if I was Kansas City i would try to get new owners with the new stadiums. Go Broncos!!

[pacificwhim]

Tear down Kauffman? You won't get an argument from me. I've lived in cities where there were downtown baseball stadiums (San Diego and Seattle), and the effect was amazing. The boost to the surrounding area was galvanic, and the atmosphere of the downtown area around the stadium was lively and vibrant. Crime dropped, rents went up, restaurants thrived before and after games, etc. It would be brilliant to tear down the Kauffman and build a purpose-built 38,000 seat park in the Crossroads. But it won't happen. Too much money has been sunk into the K.

[lovekcmo]

It's absolutely ridiculous that Kansas City DOESN'T have it's stadiums downtown.