Pursue a promising reuse of Kemper Arena

For decades, Kemper Arena echoed with applause for Kansas City’s sports teams and for concerts, circuses, rodeos and American Royal shows.

But the arena has been largely silent since Sprint Center opened almost a decade ago. The downtown arena now attracts most of the concerts, athletic contests and other events once seen at Kemper.

In what could turn into an extremely positive development, Foutch Brothers LLC of Kansas City has proposed turning Kemper into a home for amateur youth and adult sports. That’s a good potential reuse for the architectural landmark.

City officials said Monday it has become the “preferred redevelopment proposal” for the structure.

The redevelopment of Kemper Arena would attract crowds to the West Bottoms, adding to the growth in housing, antique shops, artists’ studios and other businesses in the area.

Foutch Brothers first proposed the same general idea in 2014 but withdrew its plan after pressure from American Royal officials. They wanted to raze the structure and replace it with a smaller building for Royal horse shows and other events, leaving more space outdoors for the group’s World Series of Barbecue.

The American Royal has a lease with Kansas City that runs to 2045. The Royal announced last week that the barbecue contest will be at the Kansas Speedway this fall after relocating last year to Arrowhead Stadium.

A tour of the arena begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday, and a public hearing on the redevelopment proposal is at 7 p.m. in the building.

Councilman Scott Taylor, chair of the Planning, Zoning, Economic Development Committee, said the Foutch Brothers proposal was picked over another idea that would have made Kemper the home of a minor league hockey team. Taylor said in a statement that a next step for the city includes a “rigorous financial vetting” of the Foutch Brothers proposal and the negotiation of the final sale of Kemper Arena.

Reusing Kemper is better than the building sitting mostly empty. But more details are needed before the City Council adopts the Foutch Brothers’ plan.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Pursue a promising reuse of Kemper Arena."