Sprint Arena Design is Complete

[jiveturkey]

Sprint arena design revealed

By KEVIN COLLISON

The Kansas City Star


The final design of the Sprint Center arena, described as “a glistening jewel in the revitalization of downtown Kansas City,” was revealed at a City Council meeting today.

The drawings of the 18,500-seat arena planned for 14th Street and Grand Boulevard were presented by members of the Downtown Arena Design Team and showed a curvilinear building clad mostly in glass that will be transparent enough to allow views both into and out of the facility.

“From the beginning, we’ve based this design in the belief this building should represent Kansas City’s honesty, clarity, vision and the Midwestern values we all cherish,” said Brad Schrock, the lead arena designer, in a statement.

“The manipulation of the glass skin provides a one-of-a-kind events venue that will highlight Kansas City in a unique way.”

Whether the design matches the world-class expectations that Kansas City citizens had because of the language used to describe the project may be in the eye of the beholder. Voters approved funding for the arena a year ago following an expensive campaign spearheaded by Mayor Kay Barnes.

That approval led to a fierce competition between an all-star team of local sports architects that banned together to become the DADT, and a team made up of world-renowned architect Frank Gehry and Crawford Architects, a local firm.

The DADT team won the competition last fall by dazzling a city selection team with renderings that depicted a transparent arena design lit up with state-of-the-art electronics. That design, however, proved far more expensive than the $250 million budget allotted for the project, and a more muted version that shed the sharp angles and large roof replaced it.

The final design closely resembles a working design first seen by the public in May. At the time, it was described as a slightly “pillow-like” shape.

Brad Clark, another arena designer with the team, said the surface of the Sprint Center should be a fascinating and shifting display of light.

“The taut glass-skin wrapping the seating bowl and concourses will be an ever-changing tapestry as light plays across the surface,” Clark said in a statement. “The image will vary hour by hour as the color, intensity and quality of light change.

“At night, the building will become a beacon, marking its place in our new downtown.”

A final price tag did not accompany the final design. A schedule released by the DADT indicated a “guaranteed maximum price” won’t be finalized until October.

In a recent interview, City Manager Wayne Cauthen held out the prospect the budget could grow beyond the $250 million advertised to voters in last year’s election.

“If we come up with the budget and it doesn’t look like a quality facility,” Cauthen said, “then I think we as a city need to take a deep breath and say what do we really want?

“Do we want to just fit something in a $250 million budget or something we will be really proud of?”

The construction schedule calls for the facility to open in the third quarter of 2007, several months after Barnes originally had hoped. She had wanted the facility to be completed before she left office in March 2007, but that timetable became derailed because of delays in hiring a contractor and the slow pace of producing a final design.

The Sprint Center complex also will include a National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame sponsored by the locally based National Association of Basketball Coaches in a separate annex. That 40,000-square-foot facility will have interactive displays intended to make the experience more than a static exhibit of the history and personalities of the game.

Entry to the arena will be on two levels. The main entrance will be at the northwest corner of the site at 13th and Grand. The entry plaza will stretch nearly the full length of the Grand Boulevard frontage, combining paved areas with landscaping and a water feature.

The seven-level interior of the Sprint Center should be comparable to the finest professional sports arenas in America, according to the architects. The arena is designed to accommodate an NBA and/or NHL franchise as well as major college sporting events such as the NCAA basketball regionals.

“The seating bowl is intimate and ‘event focused,’ maximizing the numbers of patrons that can be seated close to the action,” said DADT architect Steve Allison in a statement.

“The concourses are voluminous and take full advantage of the dramatic views afforded by the glass skin,” said Rafael Garcia, another DADT architect, in a statement. “Throughout the Sprint Center people will experience fresh colors and carefully selected finishes that create cohesive and dynamic spaces.”

The city is partnering with Anschutz Entertainment Group of Los Angeles to build the arena. AEG is contributing $50 million to the project and will manage the facility in return. AEG also is responsible for any construction cost overruns. The company is leading the charge to recruit a major professional sports team to be the key tenant.

The Downtown Arena Design Team is made up of HOK, Sport+Venue+Event, Ellerbe Becket and 360 Architecture.

The Sprint Center will include 72 private suites. Other amenities include men’s and women’s restrooms at the main and upper concourse with an average of one fixture per 46 spectators. The entire building is 657,000-square feet.

It will seat 17,104 people for hockey; 18,449 for basketball; 14,444 for concerts with the stage on one end, and 18,954 people for concerts with a center stage.

For more information, read The Star tomorrow.

[jiveturkey]

[redbrian]

The pretty pictures are done but the construction documents are far from done. I was just talking with HOK the other day getting a lead on who is writing the electrical specs, and they indicated that there is a ton of work to be done.

Now can the Center attract a final four, of course it can and will. The key is the infrastructure that is being built around the arena.

Not only could you hold the men’s final four at the arena you, could hold the women’s at the municipal, and have the fantastic entertainment district in between the two venues with premium hotel space nearby.

[KC Kings]

Originally Posted by Mecca

You know posting how you want a company that employs alot of people in this city, and probably on this board, to go out of business. Probably isn't the smartest idea in the world, you shouldn't want people to lose jobs in the crappy job market we have now.

You make it sound as if Sprint employees will only lose their jobs if the company goes under? Sprint may employee a lot of people in KC, but they also lay-off a lot of people and have horrible business ethics.

No, I wasn't laid-off from Sprint and when I left I got a much better job so I am am not bitter about anything. Working there sucks when you have no job security, and you watch people get laid off by the hundreds only have those same jobs posted for re-hire 2 weeks later.

That being said Sprint overpays most of theirs employees, and I have about 15k in 50% vested Sprint stock in 401k that I haven't rolled over because I am 30, live in KC, work in IT, and know there is a pretty good chance that I will back there some day.

Oh yeah, the new stadium design sucks. I want to watch other games in the glass walls like the original design showed.

[penguinz]

Originally Posted by KC Kings

Working there sucks when you have no job security,

there is a pretty good chance that I will back there some day.

If it sucks so bad why would would going back be an option?

[morphius]

Originally Posted by KC Kings

You make it sound as if Sprint employees will only lose their jobs if the company goes under? Sprint may employee a lot of people in KC, but they also lay-off a lot of people and have horrible business ethics.

No, I wasn't laid-off from Sprint and when I left I got a much better job so I am am not bitter about anything. Working there sucks when you have no job security, and you watch people get laid off by the hundreds only have those same jobs posted for re-hire 2 weeks later.

That being said Sprint overpays most of theirs employees, and I have about 15k in 50% vested Sprint stock in 401k that I haven't rolled over because I am 30, live in KC, work in IT, and know there is a pretty good chance that I will back there some day.

Oh yeah, the new stadium design sucks. I want to watch other games in the glass walls like the original design showed.

That could be said of almost the entire telecom industry, its not just a Sprint thing.

[jynni]

Working there sucks when you have no job security, and you watch people get laid off by the hundreds only have those same jobs posted for re-hire 2 weeks later.

That could be true of working for any company in the telecom industry over the past five years.

And truthfully - I hate saying this - but half of the jobs they got rid off they didn't need.

[jcroft]

Originally Posted by KC Kings

Oh yeah, the new stadium design sucks. I want to watch other games in the glass walls like the original design showed.

Yeah, I'm sure you had great plans of hanging out outside the area on a Friday night to catch all the highlights in four-story-vision.

C'mon.

[Valiant]

Looks great on that fantasy paper... How about getting rid of the nice blue sky and open space and put in the actual backdrop... Hopefully the arena works out, but I am betting agianst it...

[Halfcan]

One fixture per 46 spectators-that beats the Chiefs One portapotty for every 15,000 people. You would almost feel bad pissing in the sink like some do at Arrowhead.

[TEX]

Looks ripe for a tornado strike...

[Halfcan]

Umm Sprint sucks-worst customer service, bad management, and horrible cel service-you could be standing on top of one of their towers and still lose your call. I like the building design though.

Originally Posted by Halfcan

Umm Sprint sucks-worst customer service, bad management, and horrible cel service-you could be standing on top of one of their towers and still lose your call. I like the building design though.

Sprint PCS blows in KC. I can't recommend it.

But it rocks elsewhere. Never had a complaint using them for 5+ years in Houston.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Hydrae

Looks nice but not big enough if you want to try to attract an NBA team. Maybe NHL if you really want to bother with a team in that league.

Not true at all......The SBC centere here in San Antonio only seats 18,000 or so....The NBA actually prefers smaller, intimate venues...

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by KC Kings

You make it sound as if Sprint employees will only lose their jobs if the company goes under? Sprint may employee a lot of people in KC, but they also lay-off a lot of people and have horrible business ethics.

No, I wasn't laid-off from Sprint and when I left I got a much better job so I am am not bitter about anything. Working there sucks when you have no job security, and you watch people get laid off by the hundreds only have those same jobs posted for re-hire 2 weeks later.

That being said Sprint overpays most of theirs employees, and I have about 15k in 50% vested Sprint stock in 401k that I haven't rolled over because I am 30, live in KC, work in IT, and know there is a pretty good chance that I will back there some day.

Oh yeah, the new stadium design sucks. I want to watch other games in the glass walls like the original design showed.

As a former Sprint employee that wasn't laid off but found a better job I can echo KC'c comments. They pay abouve market and then treat their employees bad.

But here in KC the I.T. market is based upon Sprint. They lay off as bunch of I.T. people suddenly theres no jobs.

So wishing for their demise is not a good thing for me.

Does any company have great coverage area for cell phones? Depends on where you are in the country.

[Logical]

The drawings of the 18,500-seat arena...

Stupid, stupid stupid, how the hell can they be so stupid. That is a totally inadequate number of seats if they want to hold future major events.

It is beautiful though.