Sprint center

The Sprint Center is a large multi-use indoor arena being built in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. This building is located at 14th Street & Grand Boulevard, on the east side of the Power & Light District, which is also currently under construction.

The Sprint Center is scheduled to be open to public on October 13th, 2007 with a concert by Elton John and is estimated to seat 18,500 people and have 72 suites. The Sprint Center will effectively replace Kemper Arena, which was built in 1974. Additionally, the College Basketball Experience, which includes the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame will be connected to and located directly north of the Sprint Center

It was announced that the Sprint Center will host the 2008 Big 12 Conference men's basketball tournament, in addition to the First and Second Rounds of the 2009 NCAA Men's Tournament and the regional rounds of the 2010 NCAA Women's Tournament. The city has also entered into discussions with the NHL and the NBA regarding possible expansion or relocation of a professional hockey and/or basketball franchise to the arena. Its title sponsor is the telecommunications company Sprint.

Details:

Ground was broken for the arena on June 24, 2005, and construction is well underway. The final design, by the Downtown Arena Design Team (a collaboration of architectural firms 360 Architecture, Ellerbe Becket and HOK Sport), was selected in August 2005.
The Big 12 Conference men's basketball tournament will take place at the Sprint Center in 2008, marking the tournament's return to Kansas City after three years in Dallas and Oklahoma City. Women's basketball will take place at the nearby Municipal Auditorium.

The arena will also house the headquarters of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Which, is located at 1301 Grand Boulevard connected to the Sprint Center.
The outside the arena is entire glass. Inside it will have state of the art technology with a 360 degree LCD video screen. This facility should allow Kansas City to draw most concerts touring the United States. There has been speculation of an NBA or NHL team relocating to the Sprint Center upon completion, but as of yet no definitive plans have been announced. The city was given a NHL franchize in 1974, the Kansas City Scouts, but the Scouts moved in 1976 to Colorado, and after that to New Jersey. It was one of the shortest lifespan for a franchize in NHL history.