KC’s Kemper Quandary

Months after beginning a management deal with AEG, the aging Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., is losing more events than officials expected to the less-than-year-old Sprint Center, which is also managed by AEG.

With costs for operating and maintaining Kemper on the rise, the city council recently doubled the user fees at the arena and the surrounding American Royal complex from $1 to $2, according to the Kansas City Star.

And besides increasing fees to offset costs, officials also counted on continuing to host events at Kemper to pay down more than $15 million still owed on the venue.

The city’s contract with AEG reportedly established that 26 events would take place annually at the arena, with dirt events including horse shows, motocross and truck competitions to be routed to Kemper, rather than the Sprint Center.

However, three dirt events went to Sprint Center this year, the Star said.

The city council appears to be upset with AEG, even though the company has been managing Kemper for only a few months.

"It seems like Kemper has been abandoned," Councilman John Sharp told the paper. "I think we have to hold AEG’s feet to the fire to aggressively market Kemper and not leave it on the back burner. In fact, it may not even be on the back burner. It may have been taken off the stove."

AEG Sr. VP Brenda Tinnen, who oversees both arenas, explained that despite offering incentives to promoters for using Kemper, they insisted on hosting dirt events at the newer venue. And as for Sharp’s claims that AEG has abandoned Kemper, Tinnen said the company is working to feature a music festival at the American Royal Complex this year.

"I think we just need to get our arms around it and get everyone going in the same direction," she told the paper. "It is going to take time. We are continuing to move forward."

But councilwoman Deb Hermann wondered if it’s even worth increasing efforts to book Kemper Arena, especially after the city invested so much money into the entertainment district that borders Sprint Center.

"The reality is people don’t want to go to Kemper," she told the Star. "Why would we want to take 19,000 people to the West Bottoms? You’d want to take them to the entertainment district."

Global Spectrum Senior VP Frank Russo came to AEG’s defense, even though the competitor lost the bid to manage Kemper. He told the paper that once Sprint gets a major-league sports team, Kemper’s fortune could change.

"If they could hold out a little longer they will probably find more dates are going to naturally fall back into Kemper," Russo said.

For Oscar McGaskey, executive director of Kansas City’s Development of Convention and Entertainment Facilities, it’s still too soon to jump to conclusions about AEG’s plans for Kemper Arena.

"You have to give them a full year and then evaluate the results of what they have done," McGaskey said.