I think that design is kind of ugly. Showing the undersides of the seats as the main focal point is a mistake. The glass only design is kind of plain. I'll the the Qwest Center anyday.
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http://imageevent.com/kcgridlock/sprintcenter
I think that design is kind of ugly. Showing the undersides of the seats as the main focal point is a mistake. The glass only design is kind of plain. I'll the the Qwest Center anyday.
I think that design is kind of ugly. Showing the undersides of the seats as the main focal point is a mistake. The glass only design is kind of plain. I'll the the Qwest Center anyday.
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I really like the water feature out front. A little more than a giant concrete slab would make a nicer front door for the Qwest. I think the Sprint Center will garner "The Wok" as an appropriate nickname.
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What are you going to do with that water feature in the winter? I'll take our boring concrete slab, to an empty mildew grimed basin.
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It looks as if the water feature will be used as an ice rink in the winter. Not a mildew grimmed basin.
I think it looks nice at night all lite up and the displays they put on it are really cool too.
I think it looks nice at night all lite up and the displays they put on it are really cool too.
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This is just a conceptual rendering of something that's early in the process.
It will no doubt need to be tweaked, but I like this outside of the box thinking for an arena and applaud KC for getting it's collective |expletive| in gear to get this thing built.
With a budget of only! $250 million, I do think they'll be hard pressed to get something truly amazing built, but it sounds like they've got some of the best sports architects around working on the design. It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out.
Cesar Pelli is currently designing a new arena in Tulsa. I haven't seen a rendering yet, but I wonder what they've got in store?
It will no doubt need to be tweaked, but I like this outside of the box thinking for an arena and applaud KC for getting it's collective |expletive| in gear to get this thing built.
With a budget of only! $250 million, I do think they'll be hard pressed to get something truly amazing built, but it sounds like they've got some of the best sports architects around working on the design. It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out.
Cesar Pelli is currently designing a new arena in Tulsa. I haven't seen a rendering yet, but I wonder what they've got in store?
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I had kind of wondered if that was what they were going to do in the winter. The water feature I think will be cool in the summer, and a nice attraction in the winter if used as an ice skating rink. An outdoor ice skating rink is something that Omaha should consider for downtown as a winter attraction, I think Principal Riverwalk and the Sprint Center will be good examples to keep an eye to see how well the concept is recieved.
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I hope that this puts the heat on MECA to approve the seats as our competition to the south starts to materialize.
DTO
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Now that I look at some of those pics closer it looks like the arena has little or no concourses. That bottom level below the exposed seats looks to small for another level. Maybe KC just got a glorified Ford Center.
DTO
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I happen to think the design is really amazing, very forward thinking. However, it ain't gonna happen in KC, and definitely not for $250 million.
"The right to have access to every building in the city by private motorcar in an age when everyone possesses such a vehicle is actually the right to destroy the city."
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Exactly. I think more attention will be on the outside. SKimping on the inside leaves money for the water out front and elaborate outside.StreetsOfOmaha wrote: However, it ain't gonna happen in KC, and definitely not for $250 million.
DTO
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I found some renderings of the proposed arena in Tulsa. This Cesar Pelli design is going to be a beaut.
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Wow.
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That's really cool.
"The right to have access to every building in the city by private motorcar in an age when everyone possesses such a vehicle is actually the right to destroy the city."
Lewis Mumford, The Highway and the City, 1963
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KC's arena will be awesome. They took the three top arena/stadium designs teams from KC that are dominant in the field and combined their teams. The outside will be different that what they are showing now. I've read quite a bit on it and the concourses will be wide with all kinds of features that sports fans will love. They've also guaranteed to bring it in on or under budget. The fountain was a great touch so you will know you are in KC and converting it to a hockey rink will be perfect for winter. They did say that they will have the glass sides so that when you are on the concourses you will have great views of downtown KC.
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KC's arena will be awesome. They took the three top arena/stadium designs teams from KC that are dominant in the field and combined their teams. The outside will be different that what they are showing now. I've read quite a bit on it and the concourses will be wide with all kinds of features that sports fans will love. They've also guaranteed to bring it in on or under budget. The fountain was a great touch so you will know you are in KC and converting it to a hockey rink will be perfect for winter. They did say that they will have the glass sides so that when you are on the concourses you will have great views of downtown KC.
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Personally, I'd love for some company or foundation with deep pockets and KC ties to chip in another $25-50 million to make this thing one of a kind. Project reductions due to costs are the most likely hurdles the project will face at this point. Just ask those of us in Omaha and Des Moines who experienced similar reductions in the scale and design of the project on our respective arenas.
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Obviously I love it 
I don't see it being a problem getting this built for $250M. OKC's arena went up for $89M so we've got some room to play with some fun stuff. Your arena and convention center went up for what, $290M? We'll be fine...and if it does run over budget, AEG is picking up the overruns
DTO...I wouldn't worry too much about the concourse space....this is a rendering, not an architectural plan.
I don't see it being a problem getting this built for $250M. OKC's arena went up for $89M so we've got some room to play with some fun stuff. Your arena and convention center went up for what, $290M? We'll be fine...and if it does run over budget, AEG is picking up the overruns
DTO...I wouldn't worry too much about the concourse space....this is a rendering, not an architectural plan.
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LOL, I wouldn't even think of comparing costs of the Ford Center and the potential jewel that will be built in KC unless another version of ho-hum Kemper gets built again.
Maybe you're right KC, but the cost of construction has certainly increased since the bids were locked for the Qwest Center and the Iowa Events Center.
I do have a question on the cost of the Qwest Center. Did the $290 million dollar price tag include the cleanup of the railyard or was this strictly construction costs?
Maybe you're right KC, but the cost of construction has certainly increased since the bids were locked for the Qwest Center and the Iowa Events Center.
I do have a question on the cost of the Qwest Center. Did the $290 million dollar price tag include the cleanup of the railyard or was this strictly construction costs?
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Much of the Qwest Center's costs included -substantial- site preparation/environmental cleanup and utilities work.
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if we get a ford center, we got seriously ripped off.
Hopefully the ability to project video onto the side of the building is retained as was shown in the renderings.
Anybody else get "invalid_session" errors? this is my 2nd time typing this message.
Hopefully the ability to project video onto the side of the building is retained as was shown in the renderings.
Anybody else get "invalid_session" errors? this is my 2nd time typing this message.
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If my neighbor can put a dancing santa on his garage door... I'm sure putting a video on the side of a $250 million building can't be that hard.Hopefully the ability to project video onto the side of the building is retained as was shown in the renderings
I have to say... I really like the Tulsa design. More artistic appeal over space age 'wow'. The Ford Center looks very basic.
As for the forum... I've heard some folks complain of issues on rare occasions. Usually clearing out their cache takes care of it. I use both Internet Exploder and Firebird and haven't had any problems myself.
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e...might check your phpbb version, I think I remember having that problem...they had a hack/mod/fix for it.
I do like Tulsa's design, the only thing I don't like is it's still the same old blank wall against the surrounding areas...no interaction between interior and exterior...that's my favorite part about the wok/spaceship that is proposed here.
I do like Tulsa's design, the only thing I don't like is it's still the same old blank wall against the surrounding areas...no interaction between interior and exterior...that's my favorite part about the wok/spaceship that is proposed here.
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I guess I'm missing (especially looking at the rather reduced scale Tulsa arena model photos) the big difference in 'interaction'. I'm sure they'll both have ample plaza/gathering spaces tying in with the surrounding area. Although obviously the Sprint Center's surroundings will further benefit from the millions being spent to address the issue of no downtown entertainment district being present (ie KC Live).
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I'm not following what's your throwing down there. I can't tell from the renderings how the Tulsa arena will interact with the surrounding neighborhood. For all I know, they could have fountains, plazas and ice skating rinks that will surround their arena too. I don't know what the surrounding district looks like, but I'm sure it will benefit from such a venue opening up. Maybe it will even include restaurants and museums like new Memphis arena. There's still a lot of unknowns on this project unless you're much more familiar with it than I am.I do like Tulsa's design, the only thing I don't like is it's still the same old blank wall against the surrounding areas...no interaction between interior and exterior...that's my favorite part about the wok/spaceship that is proposed here.
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Is the Sprint Center rasing any doubts about the proposed arena in Wichita? Almost every city in this part of the Midwest is getting a new arena. It will be interesting to see how they all will compete. It's my bias, but I hope Omaha does well against Wells Fargo and the Sprint Center.
Is the Sprint Center rasing any doubts about the proposed arena in Wichita? Almost every city in this part of the Midwest is getting a new arena. It will be interesting to see how they all will compete. It's my bias, but I hope Omaha does well against Wells Fargo and the Sprint Center.
DTO
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what I mean by interaction is between the inside and outside of the arena....99% of arenas/convention centers/etc. turn their back to the exterior....the use of more glass breaks down that wall between the two....people inside can see what's going on outside and vice versa....that's my favorite part. Which is the opposite from say Bartle Hall or Municipal auditorium in our downtown area....with so much going on next door, having more glass elements to help blend the interior and exterior together with Sprint Center is a big deal.
DTO...no idea.
DTO...no idea.
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That Tulsa arena reminds me of the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. Not one window on the whole place. I wish the Q had more of an appealing back side. The front is great but when you're on the riverside it looks kind of plain.
I think as more stuff happens on the area between Creighton and the Q we will start to see more of an interaction with the building. It's a little bit secluded at the moment.
I think as more stuff happens on the area between Creighton and the Q we will start to see more of an interaction with the building. It's a little bit secluded at the moment.
DTO
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I see what you're saying now. It's certainly a nice and unique feature to have the Sprint Center entirely encased in glass, but I certainly don't think that's a prerequisite to have a great facility (not implying that you were saying this either). There's plenty of brick/stone/metal facilities out there that interact quite well with the surrounding neighborhoods. Grand Rapids' relatively new arena immediately comes to mind.what I mean by interaction is between the inside and outside of the arena....99% of arenas/convention centers/etc. turn their back to the exterior....the use of more glass breaks down that wall between the two....people inside can see what's going on outside and vice versa....that's my favorite part. Which is the opposite from say Bartle Hall or Municipal auditorium in our downtown area....with so much going on next door, having more glass elements to help blend the interior and exterior together with Sprint Center is a big deal.
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all glass is not the only requirement for good interaction but I think in this situation it makes it much better than a huge concrete wall against the entertainment district. It works well for this situation and is my favorite piece I've seen so far in this design.
In addition, this rendering is much more unique design than most of the other designs HoK et. al. KC designers have done lately. Looking around at other recent arena designs, I'm pleased with the unique design of this project....can't wait to see the interior ideas.
In addition, this rendering is much more unique design than most of the other designs HoK et. al. KC designers have done lately. Looking around at other recent arena designs, I'm pleased with the unique design of this project....can't wait to see the interior ideas.
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It's out there. Kind of too out there. It has an interesting texture but the overall shape is boring since it's so smooth. I'd take the Qwest Center.
DTO
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I think that the Sprint center will fit in nicely with KC, depending on the glass I think it will look great with the One KC Place in the back ground.
Go west young man.
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I'll reserve judgment until the real deal is completed... but man... that thing is "alive".
-Big E
-Big E
Stable genius.
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I think I liked the old look better.
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The renderings make it look like a giant tire, but I'm sure it'll look really cool once it's built.
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^ 
It does. Maybe they should call it the Firestone Center. Even more than the design I can't wait to see how Omaha and the Qwest Center will fare once it opens. I think we;ve had enough of a head start to let people know that Omaha is an extremely good concert market so hopefully we won't lose out on acts.
It does. Maybe they should call it the Firestone Center. Even more than the design I can't wait to see how Omaha and the Qwest Center will fare once it opens. I think we;ve had enough of a head start to let people know that Omaha is an extremely good concert market so hopefully we won't lose out on acts.DTO
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That thing makes kemper look nice. I really hope the final result is different than the rendering.
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Looks like Sprint has got all the angles covered!
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It seems like the designers of the Sprint Center are trying to be too different. A good balance such as the Qwest Center worked out perfectly for us. It is both modern and attractive, while not being too Randy Brownish. I also think the Designs are too tied to the words Sprint Center. I mean everywhere you look it says Sprint. And, in my opinion, in about 20 years it will look just like Kemper, outdated and odd looking.
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I don't know, I think this is a design that takes a while to get used to.
It's very European looking and KC gets points for attempting something like this. However, I think I do like the old rendition better than the newest version.
I was going to be concerned that this ultra-modern style would clash with the faux-old timey brick of the new P & L District, but this contrast in architecture can really make things interesting. Again, Europe is an example of this.
It's very European looking and KC gets points for attempting something like this. However, I think I do like the old rendition better than the newest version.
I was going to be concerned that this ultra-modern style would clash with the faux-old timey brick of the new P & L District, but this contrast in architecture can really make things interesting. Again, Europe is an example of this.
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