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Sources:Team Marketing Report and Mediaventures
Kemper Arena, at 1800 Genessee in Kansas City's Central Industrial District, is the centerpiece of the American Royal Center complex.
The site of the 1976 Republican National Convention and numerous NCAA Final Four competitions, Kemper seats 17,500 people and is a prime venue for concerts, touring family shows, conventions and professional and collegiate sporting events. Kemper is also home for the IHL Kansas City Blades hockey team and the NPSL Kansas City Attack soccer team.
The building's most unusual feature is a web of exterior steel trusses that suspend the roof, eliminating the need for interior columns and providing an unobstructed view from all seats.
The arena has an 85- by 200-foot floor and a computerized scoreboard featuring four video screens for messages, advertisements, replays and graphics. Message boards also ring the arena at mid-level. The building has a full-service restaurant and lounge, 25 executive suites on the main concourse, two TV/radio broadcast suites, and a complete in-house TV studio.
Renovation-Expansion-Under Construction - To be completed September 1997. Architect: HNTB, Kansas City, MO. The project includes an additional 2,000 seats bringing the total capacity to 20,000, a new entrance, additional concession areas, and additional women's restrooms in compliance with federal disability standards.
Source: Kansas City Convention and Entertainment Centers
BLADES CUTTING EXPENSES TO SAVE TEAM
October 14, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVenturesThe IHL Kansas City Blades are slashing promotion, printing and other expenses in hopes of keeping the team alive in Kemper Arena. The team spent heavily last year, according to owner Dan DeVos, in hopes of building support for the team. The support didn't materialize, so the team is now faced with cutting back on its spending.
In 1998 the team signed a new lease to play at Kemper Arena that forces less ticket revenue on the team, but also gives them a chance to make more money on concessions. The lease was for just the 1999-2000 season and requires that the team pay one dollar per ticket sold rather than 50 cents under the previous lease. In return, the team will got a chance at more concession revenue. Previously the team got 40% of the first $200,000. Now it gets that, plus 50% of sales from $200,000 to $250,000 and 60% of all sales over $250,000. The city also granted the team the right to sell any unsold signage positions not only for its games, but for all other arena events. That revenue is shared with the city.
While that sounds promising, the team has been struggling to draw large crowds into Kemper. Average attendance is 5,689 per game compared with the IHL average last season of 7,525. Kemper Arena seats 13,106.
The team would also like to see a curtain covering the upper bowl, giving the arena a more intimate feeling, but city officials say they will not spring for the $250,000 cost and the team doesn't feel it should assume the expense.
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