KC's vibe - big city or small town? Or both?

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by brandthom

But it didn't happen, it would be irresponsible to say relocating Kauffman after a major renovation. To continue to complain about it, is indeed whinning. This is also going of the assumption building a stadium downtown will 100% boosts developement. Would not the better option be to trying to secure a professional tenant for the Sprint Center and try to develop the area around Truman? Or the dreamer thought of converting some of their obnoxious amounts of parking into something?

I'm not complaining about it! I'm just commenting on how different downtown would be had a stadium been constructed in the crossroads. And I only mentioned it because others were already discussing their opinions of the stadium's location. And it was a blunder. Even if the city had to put up another 150 million to close the funding gap, it would have reaped the benefits directly and indirectly. A new stadium would have only been about 50-75 million more because there would have been more revenue (naming rights, suites etc).

Chances are, the topic will be back sooner than people think because the stadium will once again need major renovations.

Did I start a thread whining about the stadium? No.

But I will continue to "discuss" urban planning topics like this as I please which is not limited to what "YOU GUYS" want to discuss. Although, I'll talk about it all.

Yes, the sprint center needs a major league tenant and the ideal that it's just fine (or better) as a concert venue is very shortsighted. An NHL or NBA team in downtown KC would do wonders for the vibe of downtown KC. Sprint Center is idle far too often. So losing a few concert dates would be fine to get 45 nights of 17,000 sports fans down there. So even if the city gave back all the money a team generates, downtown would still be better off with a pro sports team down there. I know I know, There is no potential owner in KC, so I'm just "whining" about that too.....

[brandthom]

It wasn't addressed at you, the few here who let the conversation devolve into the number one problem with downtown kc is that it lacks a sports stadium talk again.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by brandthom

It wasn't addressed at you, the few here who let the conversation devolve into the number one problem with downtown kc is that it lacks a sports stadium talk again.

Oh, sorry. I would agree, that downtown sports do no always drive a lot of downtown economic activity. (St Louis is a good example).

But I really do think that KC's downtown would have reacted more like Denver or San Diego had a MLB stadium been built in the crossroads. Downtown KCMO is doing okay, MUCH better than it was a decade ago, but it's still pretty stagnant and lethargic compared to what it should be doing.

Killing (or delaying) expanding the streetcar is just another example of how difficult and how long it takes to get much of anything done in KC. Hopefully the city finds a way, but if it takes a decade or more to tack on another 3 miles to a 2 mile streetcar line while other cities are building billion dollar light rail expansions, well…. KC is a frustrating place at times and really does move at a very very slow pace.

[christina0001]

I'm a MO transplant and KC feels like a small/mid-size city to me. Definitely not a big small town (hello Springfield). KC obviously doesn't offer all that a large city would offer, but it offers quite a bit - shows from major performers and a variety of entertainment options, major league sports teams, diverse dining options, upper end hotels and shopping, a very nice zoo, universities... I do agree the airport could use improvements. I fly fairly regularly and I don't like KC at all, the airport is small and boring (which is sort of irrelevant, until your flight is delayed, which seems to happen to me a lot lately!). I'm a bit closer to Springfield and they seem to have almost as many good routes as KC does (at least for me).