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Sprint Center celebrates successes, still on hunt

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Wednesday, 11 February 2009 01:00
When Sprint Center CEO Brenda Tinnen lists some of the acts that have come to the arena in its first 16 months of operation, it is hard not to take notice.
“We had Elton John open the arena. We had our nine shows with Garth (Brooks),” Tinnen said. “We’ve had the Rascal Flatts twice, Celine (Dion), Billy Joel, The Police, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles and two shows with Bon Jovi.”
Her list does not even mention acts like Miley Cyrus or events such as the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament. Tinnen said about 180 events have been held in the 16 months since the Sprint Center opened and almost 1.7 million guests have come through the doors.
For an entertainment venue, it has been a stellar 16 months at the Sprint Center. But one question still on many people’s minds is if and when the center might find an anchor tenant, like a major professional sports team.
There have been flirtations with bringing the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League to Kansas City and some other contacts with NHL and National Basketball Association teams.
Tinnen said much of the work to potentially get a team to the Sprint Center falls on Tim Leuiwicki and the folks at AEG, which owns the center.
Tinnen said not having an anchor tenant is a positive for the potential to bring in more acts.
“When you do have a team it does handicap your availability,” Tinnen said. “There are some shows that rely on routing to play their 40 dates. They only have one time in a certain area. On XYZ night you may have a game booked that night, so there is no flexibility.”
Tinnen has plenty of experience in starting up arenas, having helped open the Target Center in Minneapolis and the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Tinnen said she likes to listen closely to guests’ comments and has heard plenty of them. She said most are positive and some are suggestions.
“Since we’ve opened the most common comment I have heard from anyone has to do with downtown Kansas City,” Tinnen said. “They will be in Sprint Center and look across at the Power and Light District and say, ‘Can you believe we’re in Kansas City? Isn’t this great?’ There’s such a wonderful sense of pride of ownership and belonging.”
In the 180 events so far, the center has hosted everyone from rock stars to Sesame Street characters to 7-foot-tall basketball players. Tinnen said the performers and athletes also have offered positive comments about the center.
“From everyone who has played here at the Sprint Center, they have raved about the back of the house production,” Tinnen said. “They talk about the ease coming into the loading dock, getting their stage set up, the amenities, the production lounge, the crew rooms, the number of artists’ dressing rooms.
“Everyone is a critic when it comes to sound, but the artists have given us good feedback on our sound. Garth loved it. He loved how close he felt to the fans.”
Tinnen said when an arena is first opened, it takes a certain amount of time to learn the habits of guests. She said architects can plan but never fully predict habits.
“When a great architect designs an area, it’s all done on paper,” Tinnen said. “It’s the same at Sprint Center or Staples Center. When you open the doors, the fans and guests breathe life into it and give a building its personality.”
Tinnen’s name has made news in recent weeks when Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser passed her over for a spot on the Convention and Visitors Association. Tinnen said she is not concerned with issues like appointments to committees or what exactly is her personal role in Kansas City.
“I’m just thrilled all this happened in Kansas City. I’m thrilled to be back home in Kansas City,” Tinnen said. “Do I have a certain role in all this? The Sprint Center and all the AEG staff have the job of giving good quality entertainment. We want to give everyone in Kansas City great memories that in two or three years they can say, ‘Remember when we went to (blank) show?’ Those memories last forever. I’m very committed to that. Kansas City has a lot to offer and I want to work hard for Kansas City.”

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