Independence Events Center (St. Louis, Lee's Summit, Blue Springs: high schools, live, mall)

[northbound74]

Belton rejected the idea, so Independence got a shot at it and took it.
Looks like there's already a solid schedule lined up for the Events Center, in addition to the Mavericks.


Welcome | Independence Events Center

[kcmo]

It won't be long before another suburb tries again. Olathe wanted that arena so bad and couldn't get it done and they are far enough away from Indy. Denver has two of them in the burbs. OP, Edwardsville and Belton all tried as well. The only locations l liked were Indy and OP. Belton and Edwardsville? Why? Glad Indy landed it.

I think it's a great project for Independence. If it were in Lee's Summit or Blue Springs or Liberty I'm not sure I would be as fond of it. But Indy needs this to keep the area around that mall a popular regional destination.

[OneKC]

Suburban arenas and ballparks = lame

[northbound74]

Independence ready to open its new events center - KansasCity.com

[MsDoe]

Sounds interesting, but seems a bit out there for Independence...I'm surprised they built it, especially WHERE they built it.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by OneKC

Suburban arenas and ballparks = lame

Why? It is another attraction for that are and the entire city to enjoy. It isnt a full blown arena. It is more like a civic center as it only holds around 8K people.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by MsDoe

Sounds interesting, but seems a bit out there for Independence...I'm surprised they built it, especially WHERE they built it.

Independence is the largest suburb on the Missouri side. The majority of people who live there are middle-upper middle class, with a large lower class population as well. It's the logical choice for such a place.

The location is probably the best suburban location for an arena like it anywhere in the metro. It's at a very high-profile intersection, nearly everyone in the city passes by it at some point or another, if they ever go east at all to places like St. Louis and beyond.
It's in the middle of a bustling retail district, and it's not too big that it has to rely on anyone outside of eastern Jackson County, although people from other parts of the metro will surely visit it often.

Yes, it's a minor-league hockey team that anchors it, but they're the only hockey team in town and the arena is small enough that even a light crowd should be plenty lively, bringing fans back for more. What doesn't work is when they put minor-league hockey in a big-league-sized place like Kemper.

The concerts they're having there are tailor made for the region of east Jackson County, and they will surely attract the suburbanites that probably would never go downtown for much of anything. It will also be a very nice asset for the local high schools. I think there's already been some high school hockey action there over the weekend. They'll probably use it for graduations and basketball games, along with other things, I'm sure.

The fact that the Independence Events Center is small and doesn't really compete with much else around here should help it survive just fine.

[MsDoe]

I suppose. I'm not a native of Independence (I moved here almost three years ago), so I'm still feeling my way around.

[OneKC]

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

Why? It is another attraction for that are and the entire city to enjoy. It isnt a full blown arena. It is more like a civic center as it only holds around 8K people.

They tend to host pretty lame events. Which is fine for some people, I just don't expect to ever attend events at one.

[MoNative34]

Originally Posted by OneKC

They tend to host pretty lame events. Which is fine for some people, I just don't expect to ever attend events at one.

I'm looking forward to the hockey games in the coming months. I guess we all can't be as cool as you.