T-Mobile Center (formerly Sprint Center) is a multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

in downtown

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

. It is located at the intersection of 14th Street and Grand Boulevard on the east side of the Power & Light District. It has effectively become the city's primary indoor arena, a role previously held by the

Kemper Arena The Hy-Vee Arena, previously known as Kemper Arena, is an indoor arena located in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to conversion to a youth sports and community gymnasium facility, Kemper Arena was previously a 19,500-seat professional sports arena ...

, which had been built in 1974 a few miles away in the West Bottoms neighborhood.

History

Sprint Center entrance Kansas City Missouri

The arena is owned by the city of Kansas City, Missouri. The final design was selected in August 2005, from the Downtown Arena Design Team, which was a collaboration of the architectural firms Populous,

360 Architecture 360 Architecture was an American architectural practice acquired by HOK in 2015. The firm provided services for a range of project types including corporate headquarters and commercial office buildings, sports arenas, stadiums and ballparks, mun ...

, Rafael Architects, and

Ellerbe Becket Ellerbe Becket was an independent Minneapolis, Minnesota-based architectural, engineering, interior design and construction firm until 2009, when it was acquired by AECOM. AECOM is ranked as one of the world's largest architectural firms, with ...

. The construction manager was M.A. Mortenson Company, based in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...

Groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are ...

was on June 24, 2005, and construction was completed on October 11, 2007, at (equivalent to $ in ). The complete exterior glass

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

system, all metal panels for the adjacent buildings and all accessory metal cladding, was custom designed, detailed, and supplied by Overgaard Ltd. Hong Kong to Architectural Wall Systems, the Des Moines, Iowa based glazing contractor who installed the building envelope. In total there are approximately of double insulated glass and of painted aluminum curtain wall panels. There are roughly 200 tons of system profiles and accessories. All of the 2,404 individual glass units on the main building were produced sequentially and completely assembled prior to shipping. The 5 million pounds of rebar was detailed, fabricated, and supplied by The Carter-Waters Corporation of Kansas City. The arena features a work of

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

, The Moons, by Chris Doyle, commissioned by the Kansas City Municipal Arts Commission (KCMAC). The interior has a 360-degree LED video screen. The arena seats over 19,000 people and has 72 suites. Connected to its north side is the

College Basketball Experience The College Basketball Experience is a fan-interactive facility located downtown in Kansas City, Missouri, which includes the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. It cost $24 million to build, was opened in October 2007, and is owned and ...

, which includes the

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...

. In early 2006,

Anschutz Entertainment Group The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports even ...

selected Brenda Tinnen to serve as the facility's general manager. She had previously served as senior vice president of the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it w ...

in Los Angeles, and is widely credited with the initial success of the venue and for attracting top tier concert tours.

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

personally thanked her from the stage for luring him out of semi-retirement to play nine consecutive sold-out shows within a month of the venue opening. She responded by unveiling a "Championship Banner" in the rafters, to commemorate his achievement. Sprint Center opened on October 10, 2007, inaugurated by an

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

concert three days later. In April 2020,

T-Mobile US T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 pe ...

became the naming rights partner by completing a merger with

Sprint Corporation Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The ...

. On July 9, 2020, Sprint Center was officially renamed to T-Mobile Center. Changes include an entrance specifically for T-Mobile customers, a lounge with tables that can charge smartphones wirelessly, charging stations all over the arena, T-Mobile 5G coverage, and a monument outside saying "Heart KC".

Gallery

File:Big 12 Wrestling Championship.jpg, 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship. File:Sprint Center and Power & Light District.JPG, The arena and Power & Light District, from the convention center in 2011. File:Built Ford Tough PBR Kansas City Clash.jpg, 2016 Built Ford Tough PBR Kansas City Clash

Events

Since the arena's construction, various city officials of Kansas City have been in discussions with the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) and the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) about possible

expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansio ...

or relocation of a professional

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

and/or

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

franchise for the arena; however, neither league has yet approved a team to play in T-Mobile Center. The arena hosted the

Big 12 men's basketball tournament The Big 12 men's basketball tournament (known since its inception in 1997 under sponsorship agreements as the Phillips 66 Big 12 men's basketball tournament) is the championship men's basketball tournament in the Big 12 Conference. It is a single- ...

in 2008 and in every year since 2010. It hosted the first and second rounds of the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

and 2013 NCAA men's tournaments, plus the regional rounds of the 2017 NCAA men's tournament and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

the Kansas City regional of the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament was held here. It hosted the former

Kansas City Command The Kansas City Command (formerly the Kansas City Brigade) were a professional arena football team that played in the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was founded before the 2006 season. Former Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Kevin Porter ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL).

References

External links

* {{Authority control T-Mobile US branded venue Sprint Corporation Sports venues in Kansas City, Missouri Indoor arenas in Missouri Arena football venues Basketball venues in Missouri College volleyball venues in the United States Gymnastics venues in the United States Indoor ice hockey venues in Missouri Indoor lacrosse venues in the United States Indoor soccer venues in Missouri Music venues in Missouri Volleyball venues in the United States Sports venues completed in 2007 2007 establishments in Missouri Downtown Kansas City Sports venues in Missouri Deutsche Telekom