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Discover the New Downtown Kansas City
Check out Your New Downtown
Downtown is now the place to be in Kansas City. Check out your new Downtown and find a diverse and vibrant neighborhood with a uniqueness unrivaled anywhere in the region. Hip, urban and cosmopolitan. It’s all happening Downtown.
The new Downtown KC has something to offer everyone with more than 200 restaurants, 30 nightclubs and bars, theaters, parks and museums.
Need a place to stay? Downtown has more than 3,500 hotel rooms. Be a part of history. Come out and celebrate the New Kansas City.
- Kansas City Power & Light District
- Sprint Center
- Featured Downtown Events
- New Residents & Commercial Development
Kansas City Power & Light District
(Photo Credit: Cordish Co.)
The Kansas City Power & Light District is now open. The P&L District creates a vibrant, new eight-block neighborhood in downtown Kansas City that links together the Kansas City Convention Center to the west and the new Sprint Center to the east.
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Spectacular Sprint Center
Downtown is now home to one of the finest arenas in the country. The spectacular $276 million, 18,500-seat Sprint Center hosts major sporting events and concerts.
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Featured Downtown Events
First Friday of Every Month
Join the thousands that explore the galleries and shops in the Crossroads Arts District for one of the nation’s largest art walks.
Kansas City Power & Light District Events
KC Live! Stage, www.powerandlightdistrict.com
The Power & Light District and the KC Live! stage feature more than 150 free concerts and events throughout the year. Top name acts are now on stage in the new Downtown.
Sprint Center Events
Sprint Center, www.sprintcenter.com
Downtown is now home to one of the finest arenas in the country. The spectacular $276 million, 18,500-seat Sprint Center hosts major sporting events and concerts.
May 25
Celebration at the Station Symphony Concert, www.kcsymphony.org
Thousands gather for this free patriotic musical salute by the Kansas City Symphony that concludes with fireworks over the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial. Learn More.
June 13-15
Rhythm & Ribs Jazz Festival, www.kcrhythmandribs.com
Blending two of Kansas City's richest traditions, jazz and barbecue, Rhythm & Ribs creates an exciting recipe for family fun with an amateur barbecue competition and national jazz acts in the 18th and Vine Historic Jazz District over Father's Day Weekend.
June 21-22
Crown Center Antique Festival, www.crowncenter.com
Ranked the #2 antique show in the Midwest by Discover Mid-America, the eighth annual festival will showcase pottery, china, toys, linens, collectibles, furniture, jewelry, books and more from more than 150 dealers.
June 27, July 4, 11, 18, 25
Free Friday Night Flicks, www.crowncenter.com
Bring your blanket and lawn chairs, sit under the stars and take in a classic movie on a huge outdoor screen at Hallmark Cards’ Crown Center.
July 4-5
KC Riverfest, www.kcriverfest.com
Celebrate the Fourth along the Missouri River at Berkley Riverfront Park family activities and fireworks over the river.
July 21-27
KC Fringe Festival, www.kcfringe.org
Experience live performances at this festival packed with live theatre, dance, performance art, visual art, spoken word, puppetry, storytelling, film and fashion.
August 1, 8, 15, 22
Free Friday Night Concerts, www.crowncenter.com
Friday night music at Crown Center with some of the hottest country and pop stars!
August 29-31
Kansas City Irish Fest, www.kcirishfest.com
Celebrate KC’s deep Irish roots at one of the nation’s largest Irish festivals with traditional Irish music and Celtic rock from locally and nationally-known bands, award-winning Irish dancers, heritage displays and workshops, ethnic food and extensive children’s activities.
September 26-28
Kansas City Oktoberfest, www.kcoktoberfest.org
The city’s largest Oktoberfest celebration features German entertainment and the largest Beer Hall in the Midwest.
October–November
American Royal Livestock, Horse Show and Rodeo, www.americanroyal.com
The American Royal attracts competitors from across the nation to take part in one of Kansas City’s most famous traditions.
October 2-5
American Royal BBQ Contest, www.americanroyal.com
Considered the “World Series of BBQ,” this competition is largest BBQ contest in the world featuring more than 500 teams.
November 7
Crown Center Ice Terrace Opening, www.crowncenter.com
Kansas City’s only public outdoor ice-skating rink opens for the season, which runs through mid-March.
November 28– January 1
Mayor's Christmas Tree, www.crowncenter.com
More than 7,200 white lights brighten one of the nation's tallest Christmas trees and is the centerpiece for an illuminating holiday celebration at Crown Center Square.
December 5-28
Kansas City Ballet presents: The Nutcracker, www.kcballet.org
The Kansas City Ballet's million-dollar production of this timeless classic is the largest in the Midwest.
New Residents & Commercial Development
The many faces of Downtown
Downtown Kansas City is at a tipping point as both a destination for locals and visitors, and the preferred location for new residents and commercial enterprises.
The unprecedented, multi-billion dollar investment in Downtown is creating a modern, mixed-use community – a vibrant urban center expressed through a thriving arts and theater scene, unique cultural events, dynamic mix of restaurants and nightlife, the region’s most profound attractions, along with residential neighborhoods rich in history and tradition.
Downtown embraces a large and diverse set of communities. It extends from the River District and the legendary City Market to the north; the West Bottoms to the West; the 18th & Vine Jazz District featuring the American Jazz Museum and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to the east; and south to the red hot Martini Corner along 31st Street. Downtown features the Central Business District, the burgeoning Convention District, the new Sprint Center and newer Power & Light District, the Crossroads Arts District, Crown Center, Union Station, the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial and much more.
Entrepreneur magazine has ranked Kansas City as the #1 place to start and grow a business in the Midwest along with the #11 place to start and grow a business nationally.
In the last six months alone, with the opening of Sprint Center and the seven-block Kansas City Power & Light District, Downtown has exploded with more than $1 billion worth of excitement. These premier venues have drastically transformed the physical landscape with distinct architecture and exponentially added to the Downtown experience. The massive crowds at the Big 12 basketball tournament in March proved to be a coming out party for Downtown.
And, this party is just getting started.
One of the world’s leading architects, Moshe Safdie, has created a spectacular design for the new, world-class performing arts center that will soon transform the Downtown skyline. The $405 million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts will host performances of the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Ballet, Lyric Opera and a number of other arts organizations beginning in 2010.
