NBA could work here if given a chance
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star
David Cordish might want to keep his fingers away from his laptop for the next year or two.
His recent e-mails to Mayor Mark Funkhouser that labeled the Sprint Center a “disaster” and called for a ramping up of police security at the Power & Light district did a great deal of damage to the area.
Cordish needs to leave the name-calling and overreaction to professional name-callers and overreacters like yours truly. I’m paid to overreact, lampoon and predict the end of the sports world as we know it.
Cordish is a seasoned businessman. He should realize we’re at a very delicate and unique time economically and landing an NHL or NBA franchise is going to be a long, difficult process.
Far from a failure, the Sprint Center is a sparkling success, the equal of Cordish’s entertainment area. Friday night, the Sprint Center added to its resume, playing host to a meaningless NBA exhibition in front of more than 12,000 diverse spectators.
The Trail Blazers vs. the Hawks wasn’t quite the Celtics-Lakers. The Blazers and the Hawks are not stocked with former Kansas Jayhawks or NBA superstars. Kansas Citians turned out on a high school football Friday to see an NBA game and venture over to P&L for some postgame fun.
We have a thirst for sporting entertainment. Two weeks ago — on a Monday — a little more than 11,000 filled the Sprint Center to see the LA Kings and St. Louis Blues play an NHL exhibition.
The tickets for the basketball and hockey games weren’t given away or heavily discounted.
“We priced the game at NBA prices,” Sprint Center director of communication and marketing Shani Tate Ross said. “We want people to get used to paying NBA/NHL prices.”
Larry Johnson, Dwayne Bowe and their buddies sat courtside in $200 seats. There were a few $10 tickets in the upper reaches of the arena, but most people paid between $50 and $90 to see Greg Oden and Brandon Roy smack the Hawks 102-80.
I realize it was just a one-time affair, but I’m surprised Kansas Citians were willing to step out and pay Carl Peterson prices for a nonfootball event, particularly in this brutal economic environment.
Friday night brought me one more step closer to believing we would support the NBA.
What we need is some patience and David Cordish to settle down while the Anschutz Entertainment Group diligently works to land us an NHL or NBA franchise. Blasting the Sprint Center as a “disaster” and raising questions about safety around P&L — even in a private e-mail — do not move us closer to an anchor resident.
In my opinion, based on my travel and socializing across this country, we have done a good job securing the P&L area.
Have things been perfect? Absolutely not. The recent shooting of a man in a nearby parking garage is an example of that.
Some of the complaints about racial profiling ring true. A couple of months ago, I saw a 20-something black kid turned away for wearing jeans that were “too baggy.” It was a joke. His jeans were very appropriate and pulled over his butt. The kid turned and left with his friends without putting up much of a fight. The security guard who turned him away was black, too.
My point is if anything, P&L has gone overboard trying to secure the area and prevent it from becoming a downtown version of Westport.
David Cordish’s words could be used against AEG as its executives work to secure a permanent tenant. A competing city could use Cordish’s words to hurt our bid. Cordish painted the area as an unsafe failure. And that’s just not true.
To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.
