Kemper Sale Floated

AEG is expected to operate the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., for three more years, but a city official is suggesting KC get out of the contract and find a manager that can eliminate the city’s $1.2 million subsidy.

Oscar McGaskey, the city’s director of convention and entertainment centers, told a city council committee April 8 that AEG is doing an excellent job of managing Kemper but hasn’t eliminated the subsidy, according to the Kansas City Star.

McGaskey wants to issue a request for proposals, due in June, for managers who would take on any capital costs and sign a lease with the city through 2045, according to the paper. The city would in turn absorb $16 million in debt at the arena through 2016 and another $13 million debt for the Kemper garage through 2021.

Like many markets, KC expected to find work for Kemper even after its newest addition, the Sprint Center, opened. AEG runs both arenas and AEG spokeswoman Shani Tate Ross said, “We want to do what’s best for the city.”

Bishop Leroy S. Cozart, senior pastor of the Spirit of God International Worship Center, reportedly told the committee his organization could turn the arena into a successful house of worship.