Visiting journalist raves about her time in Kansas City covering Big 12 women’s tourney
Visit KC, the tourism arm for the City of Kansas City, might want to record a commercial with Kim Doss.
Doss, covers Arizona sports for SB Nation, was in town for the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament, and she gave a glowing report of the city.
From hotels to restaurants to public transportation to the T-Mobile Center, Doss raved about everything during her stay in Kansas City.
In a long post on X, Doss shared why she loved her stay in Kansas City, and this is much different from what a TV reporter from Utah had to say a week earlier. In fact, Doss said KC is much better for a college tournament than Las Vegas.
“Have to thank @Big12Conference, @tmobilecenter & #KansasCity for a fantastic @Big12WBB tournament. I covered the Pac-12 tourney 5 times and media day once, all in Vegas. They were all nightmarish experiences. The things the league, the venue, and the city get right...
“1. My hotel checked me in 3.5 hours early without asking for more money. The time I arrived 30 minutes early in Vegas, they wanted more $ from me. 2. No ‘resort fees’ for things that a Motel 6 will provide for free. My hotel had great wifi, a gym, a restaurant, etc. No extra fee
“3. My daughter & grandson stayed with me the final night. The hotel just asked me to let them know when my family arrived. No hassles. No extra money. No insistence I move to a bigger, more expensive room. I told them we were fine w/ 1 king bed. They were fine w/ it, too.
“4. There was complimentary water in my room. Not bottles that cost $15 if you touched them. 5. I didn’t have to pay $50 for a French dip, fries, & a Coke in the in-hotel restaurant like I did in Vegas.
“6. The night I had food delivered, it was reasonably priced. I didn’t have a restaurant accept my order, confirm it, charge my card, then cancel the order and tell me I would get a refund in 10 days, leaving me short of funds to eat. Vegas restaurants have done that to me.
“7. The venue was so easy to find. The media entrance was clearly marked. When I couldn’t find my way somewhere, an employee of T-Mobile Center walked with me and helped me find it. My experience finding things in Vegas casinos was always a nightmare and the ‘help’ didn’t exist.
“8. The Big 12 tells you exactly which entrance & street to use at the venue. You don’t have to guess. It also actually runs a media shuttle!! Many times! All day & late into the night! The Pac-12 did not have a shuttle, another reason it could be a challenge to find things.
“9. Public transit is free in KC. 10. It’s family-friendly both at the venue & the immediate environs. You’re not surrounded by gambling, smoking, drugging, prostituting, stripping, etc, etc, etc. Instead, you have fun things for kids like the College Basketball Experience.
“11. T-Mobile Center staff took great care of my family when they had to wait for me while I was working. They even remembered who we were the next day. 12. The weather? It snowed Tues. night. Almost all melted & the sky was blue Wed. afternoon. Equal to/warmer than Tucson Th/F
“13. THE LOCKER ROOMS WERE OPEN!!!!! Pac-12 closed them for both MBB & WBB in 2021. They re-opened for MBB the final year but not for WBB. 14. Media did not have 3 rows of fan seats on the court in front of us like at the Pac-12 tourney the final 2 years. We could see!
“15. Finally, the Big 12 media relations staff was first-rate. Can’t thank them enough for their planning and execution of the tournament.
“Oh, 1 more thing. My reservation said there would be a $100 deposit at the hotel (and I gave them a card to charge), but they didn’t charge me even temporarily. In Vegas, I had the $100 charge every time. Once I had to call them 2 weeks later because they ‘forgot’ to refund it.”
That’s quite a glowing endorsement of Kansas City as the host for the Big 12 men’s and women’s tournaments.
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 10:22 AM.
