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Economic Development Series
Destination
Kansas City
2020 Edition | www.DestinationKansasCity.com
The Heartland’s Hottest City
DestinationKansasCity.com | Powered by Ingram’s
A Supplement to Ingram’s Magazine
They gave us the freedom to
move forward.
When you first open up a business, everything is new to you. You never know what to expect. You think you plan for
everything, but there’s something that will come up that you just never have any idea about. Having Bank Midwest in
our corner was absolutely critical. Especially providing all of our funding that we needed, so that we could encounter
and meet the challenges of unexpected things that came up.
Funding was definitely our biggest challenge initially. We went to other banks in the area and they didn’t want to look
at us. We would submit financials and our business plan, but we wouldn’t get any traction from it, nor would they
allow us to explain what we were doing, why we were different, and how this business would change the brewing
culture in Kansas City. Bank Midwest was the only bank that sat down with us and worked through the whole process.
They were amazing from the start.
Bank Midwest is where common sense lives.
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Mc Dowell Rice
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Bodker Bronstein Buchanan Daniels Galamba Gariglietti
Adam J. Gasper Michael J. Michael E. Patrick C. Joe A. Harter Scott A. Long
Gorman Griffin Guinness
Robert D. Hugh L. Rebecca D. 7L൵DQ\$ Ania Wlodek
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William C. Odle Charles W.
Colby L. Rieke Louis J. Wade
Smiley
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11903 W. 119th Street | Overland Park, KS 66213 (Appointment Only)
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DestinationHarrisonvilleMO.com
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DestinationRaymoreMO.com
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DestinationExcelsiorSpringsMO.com
DestinationGladstoneMO.com
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DestinationKearneyMO.com
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DestinationNorthKansasCityMO.com
Destination
DestinationSmithvilleMO.com
DestinationDowntownKC.com
DestinationJacksonCountyMO.com
DestinationBlueSpringsMO.com
DestinationGrainValleyMO.com
Kansas City
DestinationGrandviewMO.com
DestinationIndependenceMO.com
DestinationKansasCityMO.com
DestinationLeesSummitMO.com
DestinationLoneJackMO.com
DestinationOakGroveMO.com
DestinationMissouri.com Q DestinationKansasCity.com Q DestinationKansas.com DestinationRaytownMO.com
DestinationJohnsonCountyMO.com
DestinationHoldenMO.com
DestinationKnobNosterMO.com
CONTENTS 2020 Edition DestinationWarrensburgMO.com
DestinationWhitemanAFB.com
DestinationLafayetteCountyMO.com
DestinationConcordiaMO.com
DestinationHigginsvilleMO.com
FEATURES DestinationLexingtonMO.com
5 Welcome to Kansas City DestinationOdessaMO.com
DestinationNorthlandKC.com
6 Did You Know? Tidbits About the KC Area DestinationPettisCountyMO.com
8 Why Kansas City? DestinationSedaliaMO.com
DestinationPlatteCountyMO.com
10 Top Reasons to Choose Kansas City DestinationKansasCityMO.com
12 Must Dos in KC DestinationParkvilleMO.com
DestinationPlatteCityMO.com
14 Epicenter of Sports DestinationRiversideMO.com
19 Greater Kansas City Economic Development Report DestinationWestonMO.com
DestinationRayCountyMO.com
DestinationLawsonMO.com
DestinationRichmondMO.com
REASONS TO CHOOSE DestinationSalineCountyMO.com
27 Transportation and Infrastructure DestinationMarshallMO.com
28 Prime Location
31 Cost of Living MORE ONLINE MO KS
35 Real Estate Values DestinationDouglasCountyKS.com
39 Education DestinationLawrenceKS.com
DestinationFrankinCountyKS.com
41 Health Care and Community Services DestinationOttawaKS.com
DestinationJohnsonCountyKS.com
DestinationDeSotoKS.com
BUSINESS CULTURE DestinationGardnerKS.com
DestinationLakeQuiviraKS.com
43 Productive Work Force DestinationLeawoodKS.com
44 Business Climate and Economic Conditions DestinationLenexaKS.com
DestinationMerriamKS.com
46 50 Largest Private-Sector Employers DestinationGladstoneKS.com
DestinationMissionKS.com
DestinationOlatheKS.com
LIFESTYLES DestinationOverlandParkKS.com
DestinationPrairieVillageKS.com
49 Quality of Life DestinationRoelandParkKS.com
51 Hospitality and Tourism DestinationShawneeKS.com
DestinationShawneeMissionKS.com
53 Entertainment and Culture DestinationSpringHillKS.com
DestinationStanleyKS.com
DestinationStilwellKS.com
RESOURCE LISTS DestinationLeavenworthCountyKS.com
DestinationBasehorKS.com.com
55 Top Area Convention and Meeting Facilities DestinationFortLeavenworthKS.com
56 Economic Development Agencies DestinationLansingKS.com
DestinationLeavenworthKS.com
DestinationTonganoxieKS.com
DestinationMiamiCountyKS.com
THE THRIVING COUNTIES OF THE GREATER KC REGION DestinationLouisburgKS.com
57 Get to Know the 10 Counties in Missouri and the 6 in Kansas DestinationOsawatomieKS.com
DestinationPaolaKS.com
DestinationWyandotteCountyKS.com
DestinationBonnerSpringsKS.com
DestinationEdwardsvilleKS.com
Kansas City’s Business Media DestinationKansasCity.com DestinationKansasCityKS.com
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DESTINATION KANSAS CITY
MARKET OVERVIEW
Welcome to Kansas City:
Transformation in Progress
AS THE NAVIGATION TOOL ON THE DASHBOARD LIKES TO SAY,
“YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT YOUR DESTINATION.”
In this case, Destination Kansas City, Ingram’s one-of-a-kind that rivals anyplace besides Detroit. We’re a multi-state health-
annual update on all things related to business in this thriving care services and research magnet where new frontiers are be-
and economically diverse slice of heaven. By immersing yourself ing probed every day.
in it, you will become well-acquainted with what makes this We’ve got fresh air, plenty of land, easy access to outdoor
region tick, what will define it in the coming years, what gives amenities, pro football, baseball and soccer, fine arts, finer
it such an impressive quality of life. And when you’re done, you dining, top-tier Division I and small-college sports, some of
just might wonder, as we often do, why Kansas City isn’t top of the best high-speed Internet service you’ll find in this country,
mind for more executives around the country who are looking terrific schools and universities across the K-20 spectrum,
for markets to relocate or expand operations, or for talented ridiculously affordable housing—it’s hard to think of something
young workers looking for the perfect location to build their nest. we don’t have that business executives are looking for.
Because this place has it all. Mountains? They’re OK as far as they go, but one’s perspec-
Idle boast? Hardly. Just look at the sectors that have a big tive on elevation changes radically the first time the brakes go
footprint here. We’re ground zero in the nation’s agricultural out on the down-slope. Beaches? We average more than 215
value chain, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of square days of sunshine a year, and we’re pretty sure there’s never
miles of high-quality crops, tasty beef, pork and poultry, and been a confirmed shark attack in these parts. Culture? Well,
food processing and marketing organizations with global we’ve seen what it looks like in some of the really big cities,
reach. Kansas City ground zero in logistics, warehousing and and it doesn’t look very cultured to us.
distribution—located smack-dab in the middle of the country, This publication will explore many of our advantages in
with either coast equally accessible, and with the rail, roadway greater detail. We encourage you to read it with an eye toward
and air freight assets needed to connect points A and B. improving the performance of your own company, and for the
We’re making a national splash, in some cases, a global quality of your own life. This region certainly provides you with
one, in health-care information technology and fintech. Kansas the ammo to do both.
City is a manufacturing powerhouse with automotive output So welcome to your Destination: Kansas City.
Regional Publications
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
Joe Sweeney | JSweeney@Ingrams.com
Editorial Director
Dennis Boone | DBoone@Ingrams.com
Managing Editor
Dawnya Bartsch | DBartsch@Ingrams.com
Vice President of Sales
Michelle Sweeney | MSweeney@Ingrams.com
Contributing Writer
Ian Ritter | Digital@Ingrams.com
Art Director
Traci Faulk | Production@Ingrams.com
Cover photo by Jonathan Tasler
SHOW-ME PUBLISHING, INC., INGRAM’S
2049 Wyandotte Kansas City, MO 64108
816.842.9994 Q www.Ingrams.com
DESTINATION KANSAS CITY
MARKET TIDBITS
• Big urban, or small-town flavor, Kansas City really studies have shown, explaining why Ford and GM con-
has it all: The most populous county in the region is tinue to invest heavily in capital improvements in KC.
Jackson County, home to most of Kansas City, Mo.,
with nearly 688,000 residents. • The nationally noted rebirth of Downtown Kansas
City includes $7 billion in investment since 2002, either
• Surrounding the twin KC cores are nearly 50 cities, in place, under construction or planned. Included in
including suburbs, large and small: The Metro area that is more than $100 million for the two-mile street-
has four cities of 100,000 or more in population, four car starter line that began operating in 2016 and is
other cities have at least 50,000, and 10 with 20,000+. being expanded soon south past the Plaza.
• The Missouri/Kansas state line divides Greater • The region’s logistics sector has undergone dra-
Kansas City, but the division is not so severe as in matic growth in the past decade, and for the first
1863 when Missourians—under the leadership of time, Kansas City is seeing construction of industrial
William Quantrill—rode to Lawrence, burned most facilities pushing beyond the 1 million-square-foot
of the town, and killed some 125 citizens. threshold.
• An estimated 60 percent of the nation’s animal- • Civic leaders and voters have committed a new
related research and commerce takes place within massive single-terminal at Kansas City International
100 miles of the Kansas City region’s borders. Airport. It’s already taking shape at KCI and about to
change with the beautiful new state-of-the-art termi-
• Nearby St. Joseph, Mo., is the beating heart of that nal that is charted to open by 2021.
animal-sciences beast; it has more than 5,000 jobs in
animal pharmaceuticals, agriculture chemicals, food • More tons of freight move by rail through Kansas
processing, animal research and development. City than anywhere else in the nation, and in terms of
rail traffic, it’s the second-largest rail center in the
• Production workers here generate nearly 15 percent U.S., only behind Chicago.
more added value per hour than the national average,
Every day our region
competes against major
metros around the
world for new corporate
investments, jobs
and talented workers.
With thanks to all of our
regional partners and
investors . . . together
as OneKC, we compete
at a world-class level
and win.
6 INGRAM’S Regional Publications Ingrams.com
DID YOU KNOW?
• Greater Kansas City has 30 percent more free- • Cerner Corp’s rapid rise through health-care IT
way miles per capita than any metro in the world software into population health systems has helped
and has the second least-congested traffic of any overtake Sprint Corp. as the region’s largest private-
million-plus metropolitan area in the nation. sector employer. More than half of Cerner’s 29,500
employes worldwide work here.
• With more than 5,000 jobs in animal pharmaceuti-
cals, agriculture chemicals, food processing, animal • Platte County, Mo., and Johnson County, Kan.,
research and development, nearby St. Joseph, at the have some of the highest per-capita incomes in
northern edge of the Kansas City MSA, is a national the two-state area.
center of animal and life sciences.
• Fort Leavenworth is based in Greater Kansas City.
• Production workers in greater Kansas City produce Founded as a home for a small U.S. Calvary detach-
up to 50 percent more per hour than the national ment, “The Fort” today is home to the U.S. Army
average, as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Census. Command and General Staff College, which draws
top students from U.S. and allied forces.
• Huge intermodal facilities in Johnson County on
the Kansas side and Jackson County in Missouri have • World-famous bandit Jesse James was a Kansas
helped push this region into national prominence for City phenomenon. He was born in Kearney, robbed his
distribution. Greater Kansas City is also home to the first bank in Liberty and died in St. Joseph.
nation’s largest Foreign Trade Zone.
• Lewis and Clark were early visitors, back in 1803,
• The world’s biggest barbecue competition takes but they set the stage for westward expansion that
place every year at Kansas Speedway. Hundreds of made this region a hub: The Santa Fe, California
competitive smokers and grillers compete in this and Oregon trails all started in Independence, Mo.
signature event in tandem with the region’s premier (and lend their names to that city’s annual fall
agricultural livestock show. festival, Santa-Cali-Gon Days).
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Kansas City’s Business Media DestinationKansasCity.com 2020 7
WHY KANSAS CITY?
Newew to Kansas City in recent years, executives from somme of
itss most prominent comp
ompanies reflec
flect on what has surprissed
them most about this is place, how they lev
everage its assets to
o
strengthen their coompanies, and the elem ments to take this
region to the next level.
Michel Comes Jeffrey Jones II
CEO, SPRINT CORP. PRESIDENT & CEO, H&R BLOCK
I quickly discovered a wel- Every time my guests leave
coming Sprint family that Kansas City after visiting,
has a lot of pride for work- they say, “I had no idea!”
ing for a hometown com- There is so much happen-
pany. It didn’t take me long ing here from urban revi-
to feed off of that energy. … talization and start-ups to
It seems very fitting that a great arts and food (beyond
French guy like me would end up in the Paris BBQ)! There is also a local pride here that
of the Plains. I discovered it is not exactly rivals anything I’ve seen in the major cities
Paris—but fortunately, there are a few French around the world. … We love telling the Kan-
restaurants in Kansas City, which is cool. sas City story to prospective associates and
My wife is a concert pianist in Europe, so we enabling our team to help make our commu-
were also pleasantly surprised by the vibrant nity better through the many organizations we
arts and culture scene here. … Kansas City is support financially and through volunteerism.
brimming with startups and disruptors, people It also helps that our world headquarters is
who have a strong work ethic. Until people visit located in the heart of the Power & Light Dis-
or live here, they aren’t always convinced about trict. … We have a great foundation in place.
everything it has to offer, nor the high level of It’s important, as leaders and as a communi-
talent we have. I am anxious to see KC roll out a ty, to not rest on our laurels. We must contin-
new brand identity for the city that attracts more ually move forward and improve, recognizing
talent, especially young people. other great places are not standing still.
Ashley McClellan PRESIDENT & CEO, RESEARCH MEDICAL CENTER
Kansas City is a great place to raise a family, which is not necessarily a surprise since
I was raised here. It’s great to return to excellent public schools, more access to high-
quality health care, and easy-to-navigate streets and highways. … HCA Midwest Health
and Research Medical Center work with many local schools and universities to recruit
our skilled work force. We also offer advanced education for employees through tuition
reimbursement for Research College of Nursing and other programs offering higher
education. Because Research is a referral destination for some of the most specialized
care in the region, retaining top-tier physicians and nurses is a top priority. … There’s no
doubt we need an updated, more convenient airport. It’s great to see this is already happening.
8 Ingram’s Regional Publications Ingrams.comAndy Sareyan PRESIDENT & CEO, ANDREWS MCMEEL UNIVERSAL
I’d expected it to feel a little small after a lifetime in New York. But the overriding sense
I’ve had since the moment I arrived has been a place with tons to do and a great mix of
culture, arts, sports, neighborhoods, food, architecture, and maybe most importantly,
music. Layer onto that how welcoming the city is to outsiders and how easy it is for trans-
plants to engage with business owners big and small, civic leaders, or the neighborhood
dog walker. It combines the energy of a big town with uncommon friendliness and easy
access. Last, though not least, my 60-second commute after a lifetime of east coast traf-
fic and trains feels like a daily miracle. … The city and all it has to offer actually make re-
cruiting that much easier. I would still say Kansas City isn’t well known or understood on the coasts, so some
externally facing PR could only help. But there’s a switch that gets flipped when people come and experience
the lifestyle in person. … For all Kansas City has to offer, it could still use a little more fizz. And of course, a
more diverse and more integrated international community would only enhance the mix here.
Daniel Beckley Paul Kempinski
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT & CEO,
KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY CHILDREN’S MERCY
My wife and I have been I describe Kansas City as
surprised by the level of large enough to be sophisti-
civic ambition in Kansas cated but small enough to be
City, and by the richness manageable. What surprised
of the arts and cultural me was the breadth and
offerings here. … I was depth of the community in
attracted by the Symphony from another mar- terms of arts, culture, sports, and the restaurant
ket (Indianapolis), and what put me over the top scene, and the people are amazing. And the level of
was the fact that the arts scene in Kansas City is collaboration among the businesses and community
among the strongest per capita of any American leaders. In some cases, these businesses are com-
city. We have a strong culture of engagement peting with each other, but people are still coming
and philanthropy here that can truly power our together in very collaborative ways to improve the
ambitions to become a Symphony and a city of community. … The key (to attracting talent) is to get
greater national significance. … Kansas City has them here. Honestly, that’s challenging, but once we
a branding problem, no doubt about it. do, we think we have a great story to tell here. When
We need a 30-year vision for the city and a brand we are able to show what Kansas City has to offer, then
to support it. People don’t understand how great the story resonates pretty easily and quickly. As I tell
this city is until they spend some time here, and people with my own experience, you sort of had me at
attracting talent means establishing a special “hello.” … Thank goodness they are working on KCI; the
perception of the city before they come. other thing is a brand. Kansas City needs a brand it can
rally around and create resonance throughout the country.
Jeron Ravin CEO, SWOPE HEALTH SERVICES
One of the most important insights for me is that Kansas City is a very welcoming
city with lots of great institutions. These days, younger providers want to do clinical
work as well as research, and that affords us that opportunity to grow a provider
work force that is keeping in line with trends in health care. It gives them oppor-
tunities to see patients and work with institutions like UMKC, KU Med and others.
The quality-of-life factors you want as a young professional are all here: It’s inex-
pensive, has a lot of great communities like Brookside, Waldo, the Crossroads and
Downtown; the transportation is good, college towns are close if you want to catch
a game, it has great arts, great cuisine. These are things any young professional
is looking for.
Kansas City’s Business Media DestinationKansasCity.com 2020 9FIVE FACTORS TH
Centrality Affordability Productivity
I f not for the Wright brothers, would
the term “flyover country” have ever
come about? For a hundred years, we’ve
I nteresting stat that popped up rec-
ently: Someone saving for a home
needs to bank more than nine years’
D id you ever stop and think about
this: The federal government’s
record-tracking—from census to banking
battled that label, but lookie-lookie: worth of their income to manage the to land use to smokestack emissions—
Kansas City is one of the hottest locales sales price of a home in coastal Califor- is able to drill down and discern causes
in the country for that very factor: It’s nia, metro New York or the Boston area. and effects involving race, age, income,
proximity to everything. When you put Here? Just 2.4 years, and as you get employment, hair color, etc., etc.
us in a national context, if we were any outside the metro core, substantially less. But here’s a glaring hole in what we
closer to LA or Seattle, we’d just be that Topeka, just an hour to the west, clocked know about ourselves: Workplace
much further from New York or Miami. in at 1.4 years’ income, according to productivity. Despite oceans of data on
National and international logistics com- CityLab.com. Housing is a big driver everything else, Uncle Sam can’t—or
panies have taken note, and the explosion of our low cost of living in the Kansas won’t—produce a city-by-city measure
in the growth of our logistics, transporta- City area, but so are groceries, another of worker productivity. We can think of
tion and warehousing assets here rivals big-ticket item in everyone’s budget. some cities that absolutely would not
that of any other location in the U.S. And we’re below national averages for want to be ranked by such a measure, so
Much of the growth started in the wake health care, utilities, transportation and their congressional representation natu-
of the Great Recession, as national com- other goods and services. For most of us, rally wouldn’t be pushing for the same.
panies were seeking new efficiencies and though, the ability to buy a nicer home, But we’ll put Kansas City’s work force
distributing to far-flung consumers who a bigger home, a home that fulfills our out there as a champion of industrial and
were abandoning big-box stores to shop spin on the American Dream, starts with commercial output. With most people
on-line. Warehouses exceeding 300,000, prices you just can’t find on the coasts here just a generation or two removed
then 500,000 and 800,000 square feet, or in major population centers. And from the work ethic of an American farm,
previously unheard of in this market, the disposable income left over after the we get things done. Have any doubts?
began springing up, and not just rising, mortgage is paid helps finance a quality Ask Ford, General Motors, Honeywell,
but filling, with developers’ speculation of life you find in few American commu- Orbital ATK or other national mega-
paying off in leases with companies seek- nities of this size. companies with a big footprint here.
ing to capitalize on our superior access to
every part of the nation.
10 Ingram’s Regional Publications Ingrams.comAT FIT KC TO A ‘T’
Creativity Quality There you have it
I n 2016, the National Center for Arts
Research—yes, it’s a thing—added
three cities to its list of the 20 most
B ut there’s a lot more to the quality of
life here than a thriving arts com-
munity. Complementing the explosion in
A few key quality-of-life and quality-of
business factors that make Kansas
City shine. And not just in the eyes of
vibrant arts communities in the nation. visual arts are assets like the world-class the natives. Ask almost any CEO who
It would surprise no one that Portland, Kauffman Center for the Performing has been transplanted here from points
Ore., and Austin, Texas, were two of Arts, high-level sporting activities like pro distant. The phrase “I had no idea that
those three. The other? Right here in baseball, football and soccer, as well as Kansas City had (insert your quality met-
River City, folks. Kansas City’s addition college sports, outdoor options (including ric here) …” will spring from their lips,
to that august group was a reflection easy access to fine camping and boating guaranteed. And we couldn’t agree more.
of what’s happened across the region, venues not far away), increasing num-
not just in the red-hot Crossroads Arts bers of bike and hiking trails throughout
District of Downtown. But that locale has the region, good schools in most of the
driven huge change in arts appreciation metro area, fine dining and night-out
here, as evidenced by the throngs that entertainment options, great health-care
pour into Downtown, or stay there after a facilities. The public school systems on
week’s worth of work, on the First Friday either side of the state line produce some KC
of each month. That celebration of arts, of the highest college-prep test scores in
crafts and trendy eating spots has helped each state, public safety is rarely an issue
give Downtown a bigger-city feel. And outside the kinds of neighborhoods that
that has grown up on top of a foundation challenge any big city. The quality of life
that includes spectacular arts venues like here is, not to overstate things, simply
the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and its outstanding. The aforementioned afford-
companion Bloch Building, the Kemper ability factor looms large here, as people
Museum of Contemporary Art, the Ner- with more disposable income after the
man Museum of Art and smaller venues bills are paid are able to sample many of
that dot the regional landscape. life’s finer offerings.
Kansas City’s Business Media DestinationKansasCity.com 2020 11MUST DOs IN
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
• 4525 Oak St. • 1 Royal Way • 1601 Broadway Blvd.
• Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m • Hours vary • Box office open daily
• Free • Price varies • Free tours are available with a reservation
• www.nelson-atkins.org, (816) 751-1278 • www.mlb.com/royals/ballpark, (816) 504-4040 • www.kauffmancenter.org, (816) 994-7200
It’s easy to forget that the Nelson-Atkins The Royals’ 2015 World Series victory seems The Kauffman Center for the Performing
Museum of Art is a destination meant to be ex- like years ago to die-hard fans, but now there Arts has quickly become a fixture on Kansas
perienced indoors as well as outside. After all, is hope that the team can return to its former City’s Downtown skyline. It’s easy to forget
giant shuttlecock sculptures adorn the build- glory with a new ownership group in place, that the Moshe Safdie-designed complex,
ing’s front lawn, and the building was named led by local businessman John Sherman. punctuated by its cone-ring design, was
an architectural marvel by Time in 2007. Along Despite the Royals’ win-loss record, Kauff- completed in 2011. With it’s 180-degree win-
with its sculpture garden and several outdoor man Stadium is one of the best places in the dows in the great hall, the center is Kansas
activities throughout the year, it’s easy to visit country to take in a game. Ticket prices are City’s homage to high art. The facility is
and never enter it’s doors. But that would be a inexpensive compared to other stadiums of home to the Kansas City Ballet, the Kansas
mistake. The museum houses an impressive its caliber and none of them boast Kauff- City Symphony, and the Lyric Opera, which
collection of Chinese artifacts, abstract paint- man’s famous fountains behind the outfield. are feature in two theaters: Muriel Kauff-
ings and breathtaking photography. The Nel- It’s also a great venue for children who might man Theater and Helzberg Hall. Besides the
son is also now home to the Tivoli art-house not want to sit through nine, or more, innings companies the venue calls home, the center
cinema, which closed in Westport, and major of baseball, with hands-on activities, such also features popular contemporary music
exhibits on ancient Egypt and abstraction are as base running, a playground and batting and other performances. Scheduled so far
included in 2020. The cafeteria in Rozelle Court cages in Kauffman’s Outfield Experience for 2020 are shows featuring Michael Bolton,
is a great place to unwind, as is the natural- area. There is also plenty of good grub for all and the Squirrel Nut Zippers with the Dirty
light filled Thou Mayest Roasters coffee shop. tastes and several bars for the grown ups. Dozen Brass Band.
12 Ingram’s Regional Publications Ingrams.comFirst Fridays
• Crossroads Arts District
• First Friday of every month
• Free
What started in 1995 simply as art-gallery
receptions the first Friday of every month in
the Crossroads Arts District has turned into
an ongoing full-fledged festival. Upwards of
10,000 people converge on the area to still see
artwork at its several galleries. But nowadays
there are many more attractions. Food trucks,
pop-up stores and live bands converge from
block to block, making First Fridays a true
street party. Festivities start at 5 p.m., and
attendees driving to it are encouraged to get
there earlier because the parking situation can
be challenging. Meanwhile, the Crossroads
has several restaurants, stores and entertain-
ment venues in its own right, so many plan an
entire evening around First Fridays.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
• 1616 E. 18th St.
• Tues.-Sat. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sun. noon to 6 p.m.
• $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $6 for children District, with its several restaurants and
• www.nlbm.com, (816) 221-1920 National World War I Museum bars to enjoy before and after shows.
and Memorial
African Americans played professional • 2 Memorial Dr. Union Station
baseball before MLB officially integrated and • Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. • 30 W. Pershing Rd.
Jackie Robinson played his first season with • $18 for adults, $14 for seniors and military, $10 • Open daily 6 a.m. to midnight
the Dodgers in 1947. The Negro Leagues for youth 6-18, free for children under 6 • Free, but price depends on exhibit
Baseball Museum preserves what they have • www.theworldwar.org, (816) 888-8100 • www.unionstation.org, (816) 460-2000
contributed to the sport and the rich history
of the league African Americans played in The National World War I Museum and Me- There are plenty of reasons to go to Union
before black players were able to sport the morial is at the foot of one of Kansas City’s Station that don’t involve catching a train.
jerseys of the Dodgers and other teams. most recognizable structures, the 217-foot Over the years, the iconic building, located
Liberty Memorial Tower. A warning of the just south of Downtown, has become a major
American Jazz Museum horrors of war, the museum replicates the Kansas City entertainment draw. Union Sta-
• 1616 E. 18th St. trenches from where battles were fought, tion is home to Science City, a popular inter-
• Tues.-Sat. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sun. noon to 6 p.m. features original armaments and gives an active museum for children with hands-on,
• $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $6 for children extensive history of the conflict that shaped interactive educational displays. The venue
• americanjazzmuseum.org, (816) 474-8463 the 20th Century and cost nine million peo- is also home to major traveling exhibits.
ple their lives. Entering the museum, visitors Through the beginning of 2020, artifacts from
Jazz is considered by many the only art form walk across a glass bridge suspended over the 13th Century Mongolia are on display for
with its beginnings in the United States, and a 9,000 poppies, each representing 1,000 lives an exhibit on Genghis Kahn, exploring his
hotbed of its emergence was Kansas City’s 18th lost in combat. Exhibits about the Vietnam legacy and the time period. Meanwhile, the
and Vine neighborhood, which the American War, and how World War I changed the station’s planetarium and extreme 80-foot-
Jazz Museum calls home. Here one can learn physical topography of Europe are featured screen theater have regular shows.
about saxophone great and Kansas City native through the beginning of 2020. More than
Charlie Parker as well as the other musicians two million people have visited the museum Country Club Plaza
who helped shape this distinctly American since it underwent an extensive renovation • 4706 Broadway Blvd.
music. For those interested in seeing live per- in 2006 and was named a National Historic • Hours vary by shop and restaurant
formances, the museum’s Blue Room features Landmark. • countryclubplaza.com, (816) 753-0100
regular gigs by local and traveling musicians.
Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland Many locals take for granted that the Country
• 1228 Main St. Club Plaza, built in 1922, is one of the world’s
• Box office Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. most recognized shopping centers for its
with extended hours on show days striking open-air design that mimics the
• Price varies architecture of Seville, Spain. The venue’s
• www.arvestbanktheatre.com, (816) 283-9900 many water displays are also play a big part
in why Kansas City is called “The City of
There aren’t many acclaimed music groups Fountains.” By day, the Plaza is a shopper’s
that haven’t performed at what is now the destination with several of the country’s
Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland through best-known upper-end retailers, with a
the decades. Bob Dylan recently passed Nordstrom planned for the lineup in 2021.
through town and the theater, which was And by day and night its collection of bars
built in 1927 has welcomed scores of per- and restaurants makes the area a wining and
formers, from Willie Nelson to Jay-Z. The dining destination. One of the Plaza’s high-
Renaissance Revival-style theater sits 3,200 lights are the thousands of Christmas lights
and is located by the city’s Power & Light that adorn buildings through the holidays.
Kansas City’s Business Media DestinationKansasCity.com 2020 13Sports Excellence
Starts in the Middle
From pro football, soccer and baseball to college head Stadium during the 1980s. They
will cite those as evidence that we’re a
football and basketball, NASCAR and more, the collection of bandwagon-hoppers who
get behind our teams only when they’re
heart of America brims with superior results winning.
An alternate viewpoint is that fans
on the field, on the court or on the diamond. here are among the nation’s most dis-
criminating when it comes to choosing
S
ix stinking inches. Dee Ford’s cisco just weeks later, and probably where they’ll spend their hard-earned
hand is placed six inches back won’t be either forgiven or forgotten by dollars—and if one organization is let-
across the line of scrimmage, sports fans here. But he’s now part ting them down, there are plenty of
and the Kansas City Chiefs are of the rich lore of Kansas City sports. other venues calling those fans out.
in Super Bowl LIII in February That sports history at times has pro- But let’s start with where the most
2019. duced excruciating pain, at others un- intense fan experience is: Arrowhead.
But because the now-ex-Chief nud- inhibited joy, but always a sense of Things were tough in the 1980s, yes.
ged over the line and drew that offsides energy and excitement
KC Street Car among one of Then Marty Schottenheimer arrived in
penalty, a Chiefs interception of Tom America’s most engaged communities 1989. After just one season, he changed
Brady was nullified. New England went of sports enthusiasts. the face of pro football here. On-field
on to score the touchdown that effec- Some will point to the flagging atten- wins generated consistent sellouts
tively led a sudden-death ending: Pat- dance of the Kansas City Royals since and created game-day tailgating experi-
rick Mahomes never got the chance to more than half a million people jammed ences that have become social events in
lead a winning drive against the soon- Downtown to celebrate the 2015 World themselves.
to-be world champion Patriots. Series title. Or the seas of empty red Fans packing Truman Sports Com-
Ford left town in a trade to San Fran- seats that defined football at Arrow- plex have earned recognition from the
14 Ingram’s Regional Publications Ingrams.comThe shine of 2015 has dimmed, at- hawks. Football fanatics from Mizzou
tendance as Kauffman Stadium has perennially build on hopes for a bowl ap-
flagged. But keep something in mind pearance and to compete in the South-
when you see half its 42,000 seats emp- eastern Conference championship. And
ty on game day. The New York Yankees both KU and K-State have new football
have averaged slightly over 44,300 fans coaches with national-championship vic-
a game since the start of the 2000 sea- tories on their resumes.
son. While that’s twice the 21,822 the The 2019-20 college sports year holds
Royals have averaged over that same great promise for all three groups.
span, it’s in a market with a population
base nearly 10 times larger. NASCAR
Even if you factor in the drag on Since is opening in 2001, the Kansas
Yankee attendance by the crosstown Speedway and its introduction of NAS-
Mets (average since 2000: 33,000 and CAR racing to this market have prov-
Park
change), you’re still talking about a huge en game-changing, and not just for
enthusiasm gap between the Big Apple sports fans. Some economic analyses
e rc y
and Kansas City fans. And KC is on the have shown that the 1.5-mile oval (orig-
right side of that argument. inally with seating for 82,000, but since
’s M
It took 30 years to follow up the 1985
Series championship with another tro-
re n
Stadium
phy, but fans here are always ready to head
ild
w
fill the seats with royal blue when the r ro
Ch
A
team’s commitment to winning trans-
lates into just that: Wins. It’s tough
Guinness Book of to demonstrate that when the
World Records as payroll is No. 23 out of 30 ma-
being the loudest in jor-league baseball teams.
the world, with a record (It’s less than half of those
noise level of 142.2 decibels— damn Yankees, who
enough to cause some permanent trail only the Boston
hearing loss, if exposed for long periods. Red Sox for payroll.)
Count on this: If Chiefs Kingdom And what have
is bound for Super Bowl LIV—and we those extra billions in
think we will be—it’s gonna get louder. spending yielded New
York since 2000? A
The Kansas City Royals 2-1 lead over Kansas
With the prospect of a new owner City in World Series
for the Kansas City Royals, there is hope championships. Game,
that John Sherman’s planned purchase set and match, KC fans.
of the team from David Glass will herald
in a new era of on-field success. Collegiate Sports
Sherman, the long-time energy ex- One positive element of
ecutive who has founded and sold a pair a state line bisection of the
of highly successful natural-gas com- population base is the number
panies, will have to divest his minority of Division I sports programs that
ownership stake in the Cleveland Indi- compete for fan loyalties. In these
ans and get approval from Major League parts, the past couple of decades have
Baseball’s other owners to complete yielded national-champion caliber bas-
the deal. ketball at the University of Kansas, and reduced to 48,000), generates roughly
But the prospects of change are ex- even No. 1 rankings for the football pro- a quarter-billion dollars in economic
cellent, and expectations are rising grams at Kansas State University, and activity for the greater Kansas City re-
among fans. Will that translate into in- the University of Missouri. gion each year. Within that are more
creased attendance at Kauffman Stadi- All three programs were off a bit than 5,000 jobs tied to track operations
um? Perhaps. But even with some of the the past year or so, but fans in Law- or businesses that have been built up
team’s struggles over the last couple of rence are looking forward to another around this beautiful race track in west-
years, the fan support has been stellar. winning basketball season for the Jay- ern Wyandotte County.
Kansas City’s Business Media DestinationKansasCity.com 2020 15The Kansas Speedway Al
le n
hosts two major NAS- Fieldhouse
CAR races each year, the
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
Series, held in both May and Octo-
ber. The new events were announced around the time
a $2-billion acquisition was in the works between the
track’s former owner International Speedway Corp., and
NASCAR Holdings. That deal closed in October 2019.
ISC, now a NASCAR subsidiary, owns or operates 13
ca
major motorsports tracks,
ec
including such well-
M known tracks as
KC i gn u m
: Th es di
e Sports D ta
S
an
ffm
Question: How did the 26th-largest city in the nation
Kau
in 1970 emerge, half a century later, as the undisputed
global center of design excellence in sports architecture?
If you boil it down to two words, Earl Santee says
they might be “Ron Labinski.” Or “Kivett & Myers.” The
architect and the firm that hired him changed the very
face of sports stadiums with the two-facility Truman
Sports Complex in the early 1970s. Because of their
work, the multi-sport facilities that disappointed so
many fans of both baseball and football would become
relics of a design era passed.
That positioned this city to become an incubator of
the world’s greatest concentration of sports and large-
venue design talent. Santee, managing partner at Pop-
ulous, believes there might be 500 designers in that Daytona, Talladega, Darlington and Watkins Glen. Con-
niche working in this market. The family tree of firms struction of Kansas Speedway was completed in 2000.
tracing roots to Kivett & Myers includes HNTB, which The track’s ownership group also controls the adjoining
acquired K&M; Labinski’s next venture, Devine, James, Hollywood Casino through a JV partnership.
Labinski and Meyers; HOK Sports Facilities Group, Though the local properties have a new own-
which became today’s Populous; global giants like AE- er, ISC will remain close to the France family.
COM, with its sports practice here, and smaller firms Jim France, the son of NASCAR co-founder Bill France,
like Manica Architecture, with a comparative handful is the still entity’s chairman. However, the acquisi-
of employees but a portfolio of venues worldwide. tion called for the France family to transfer their ISC
They have combined to build facilities on six conti- holdings to NASCAR, while other shareholders are to
nents, Olympic venues, outdoor stadiums and enclosed receive $45 a share.
arenas—it’s a long list. One reason for the region’s The consolidation occurs as NASCAR officials are deal-
prominence, Santee suggests, is that firms like Populous ing with a decline in interest for the sport. In 2018, ISC
hire so many people who are themselves sports nuts. said that admissions revenue
“They are people who love the idea of designing buildings dropped $9.6 million, or
that their heroes would play in,” he says. a nsas Speedwa 10.7 percent, for NAS-
K y
The best part for this region, perhaps, is that there’ CAR Cup events, comp-
still room for the niche to grow. ared with the pre-
“There are now firms like Dimensional Innovations vious year.
with sports work, graphic firms with sports work,
other architectural firms that do sports work—as
society continues to change, there will be more
and more opportunities for startup companies,”
Santee said. “There are a ton of opportunities
across the world.”
16 Ingram’s Regional Publications Ingrams.comAin’t That a Kick?
For a growing fan base in pro and amateur soccer, 2026 could be
a la
landmark year that will change everything in Kansas City.
T
hat’s when North America mic impact. Kansas City hosted the U.S. “If I’m Brazil, and I have to play a
will host the men’s FIFA Figure Skating Championships, NCAA game in Mexico, and a game in Can-
Word Cup, and Kansas City Men’s Basketball Midwest regional ada and a game in San Francisco, and
is one of 17 cities in the tournament games, the NCAA Wom- maybe in New York, where do I want
United States that have been en’s Volleyball Championships, as well to be? Kansas City,” Nelson said.
chosen as finalists to host the events. as other events. The entire year brought “There’s no better place to train and
That number will be whittled down in $300 million. So the World Cup for all of my fans to live because we can
to 10 by FIFA, which is expected to would double a great year in one month. get to all of those cities within a few
make an announcement by early 2021. To get there, Nelson calculates that hours, and that makes us very unique.”
In the meantime, a group of the the area needs to beat out three of Games would be played at Arrow-
community’s sports and business lead- the 17 U.S. cities that are relatively head, which is a good thing, since it
ers, called KC2026, is working hard to nearby and considered Kansas City’s has the fifth-largest seating capacity
boost the region into the final 10 for main competition: Cincinnati, Denver of all 17 teams, but also a challenge,
the international soccer games. and Nashville. because free public transportation
If they’re successful, bringing the Kansas City has a lot going for it to would need to be provided to and from
World Cup here would have a signifi- make it an ideal location as a host city. the stadium, Nelson says.
cant economic impact, and in the mean- There are adequate facilities and accom- A spokesman for the Chiefs orga-
time, bring some lasting changes to the modations to serve as a home base for nization, which is also a supporter of
city’s infrastructure. a country’s team and its fans—about KC2026, said: “We are working with
“With the size of Arrowhead [Sta- 10,000 per team—for the six-week dur- a local engineering firm on logistics
dium], we could host after the semi- ation of the games. Those teams need a topics, including transportation to and
finals, which means up to five, poten- practice facility to store their equipment from the stadium, in addition to how
tially six, games,” said Kathy Nelson, and call home during that time, and to best retrofit Arrowhead to accom-
president and CEO of the Kansas City there are several such venues in the modate the field requirements.”
Sports Commission, and a member area, including the new Pinnacle Devel- Retrofitting the stadium will in-
of the KC2026 executive committee. opment Center, a training complex used volve widening the playing field for
“That’s easily $600 million to $700 by Sporting KC and U.S. Soccer, in soccer, and the team is looking at a few
million. In a month. We’ve never seen Kansas City, Kan.; the Chiefs’ practice different options, including the tem-
anything like this, and we’ll never see facility near Arrowhead; Park Univer- porary removal of the warning track
anything like this again.” sity’s fields, in Parkville; and others. area and some lower seating. All of the
To put that dollar amount in per- Then there’s Kansas City’s geo- NFL stadiums in the running would
spective, 2017 was a great year for the graphic accessibility to other areas of need some kind of adjustment for FIFA
area in terms of sports-related econo- North America. standards, though, Nelson said.
Kansas City’s Business Media DestinationKansasCity.com 2020 17jedunn.com
Greater Kansas City 2020 EDITION
E CONOMI C DEVEL OPMENT R EP O R T
www.DestinationKansasCity.com
(Front row l-r) Mayor Mike Boehm, City of Lenexa
Jill McCarthy, KC Area Development Council
Moving the Needle on Regional Growth
Courtney Dunbar, Burns & McDonnell (Chair)
What will it take to drive growth across a region as broad and eco-
Jim Rine, UMB Bank
Mark Long, Newmark Grubb Zimmer nomically diverse as Kansas City? That was the outline for a thought-
James Isom, Burns & McDonnell ful, several hour conversation involving two dozen of the area’s most
David Soffer, Kansas Department of Commerce influential business executives on Nov. 18, as they gathered for the
Charles Renner, Husch Blackwell
Greater Kansas City Economic Development Assembly. It was hosted
(Back row l-r) by JE Dunn Construction, a long-time driver of civic initiatives, and
Don Greenwell, The Builders’ Association chaired by Paul Neidlein, president/CEO of Dunn’s Midwest Division,
Rob Cleavinger, JE Dunn Construction
along with Michael Kiley, president and CEO of Topeka-based Security
Owen Buckley, LANE4 Property Group
Matt Pivarnik, Greater Topeka Partnership Benefit Corp., and Courtney Dunbar, economic-development execu-
David Fenley, Dentons tive with Burns & McDonnell. Work-force development remained a
Pete Fullerton, Kansas City Aviation Department prime topic, as well as the new airport terminal, emerging business
Ryan Manies, McCownGordon Construction
opportunities such as logistics, building a research university, appro-
Michelle Sweeney, Ingram’s Magazine
Brent Roberts, Block Real Estate Services priate use of public incentives and more.
Mike Kiley, Security Benefit Corp. (Chair)
Mark Ward, Mark One Electric
John Petersen, Polsinelli PC Sponsors
Molly Howey, Greater Topeka Partnership
Zach Hubbard, Block Real Estate Group
Tim O’Brien, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City
Paul Neidlein, JE Dunn Construction (Chair)
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99-00504-30 2019/09/12G R EAT E R K ANS AS C ITY Economic Development Report
Make A Wish, Kansas City Don Greenwell, president of The
Imagine you could make one wish Builders’ Association, sees the furor over
to set the stage for regional growth in use of incentives tied to broader issues
Kansas City. What would it be? The of equity. “We need to get this consen-
assembly attendees were asked to iden- sus as a community with where we are
tify that one driver, and they responded with incentives, and with social issues
with a variety of thoughtful choices. of equity and justice.”
JE Dunn’s Rob Cleavinger, director “A game-changer for us would be a
of construction operations, kicked it Downtown baseball stadium,” declared
off with a regional touch, “I think it’s Mark Long, CEO, Newmark Grubb Zimmer.
breaking down the bistate division and For LANE4 Property Group’s Owen
combining folks on both sides of the Buckley, “74 degrees and sunny every
region to become one,” he said. day,” would be the ideal. More realisti- 1
That answer, said UMB Bank CEO cally, he said, “we have to get a handle
Jim Rine, would likely be heard a lot. on our crime and the way it’s being mes-
“But I would also say keep the economy saged to the rest of the universe.”
going and to do that, take the president’s Mike Boehm, mayor of Lenexa and
Twitter account away.” a Commerce Bank executive by day,
Jill McCarthy, senior development restated his long-held vision for a locally
leader at the Kansas City Area Dev- based research university, “whether
elopment Council, offered a contrasting that’s UMKC or KU.”
viewpoint on geographic divisions: “I Molly Howey of Go Topeka! and the
like the state line,” she said. “It gives Greater Topeka Partnership cast her vote
us two packages to put in front of every in statewide and regional terms: “To
new business coming in.” As for that retain the talent we are so frequently
one wish, it would be “triple-time the exporting to other states,” she said.
airport construction to get that open Her colleague at the Topeka operation, 2
immediately.” Matt Pivarnik, sees economic vitality
John Petersen, a development-law springing from “St. Joseph, Columbia,
specialist from Polsinelli, wishes there Topeka and everything in between with
would be less editorial negativity from serious population growth.”
the local newspaper on matters of devel-
opment. The public, he said, needs to be Where the Jobs Are
better educated on the real ROI of public
Federal statistics show that trade, transporta-
investments in development through the tion and utilities, along with professional ser-
use of incentives. vices, accounted for nearly half of the employ-
ment by sector in the Kansas City region:
Zach Hubbard of Block Real Estate
Services concurred, but decried the Supersector Employment
politicization of the incentives pro- Professional/Bus. Services 201,800
cesses in the region. “We need to have Government 150,100
Trade/Transportation/Utilities 213,200
an honest discussion about how they
Education/Health Services 163,800 3
improve our region,” he said.
Leisure/Hospitality 117,200
That honesty, and transparency, Construction-Related Services 54,700
would go a long way toward resolving the Financial Activities 80,000
debate over the use of incentives, said Other Services 42,900
David Soffer, of the Kansas Department Manufacturing 76,800
of Commerce. He said there was a need Information 15,700
“to drive home the message that we are Total Non-Farm Employment 1,116,200
not the enemy; we are trying to bring Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
companies to Kansas.”
1. Paul Neidlein said it was important to drive the message outside this area: Kansas City
is Open for Business. | 2. Mike Kiley said a full-employment economy brings work-force
issues into a sharper focus. | 3. The Kansas City region, said Courtney Dunbar, is brimming
with assets, and its challenges are manageable. | 4. Development lawyer John Petersen
offered a rousing defense of public incentives, calling for the citizenry to be better-educated 4
on their structure before rejecting development proposals out of hand.
DestinationKansasCity.com 2020 21You can also read
