Sprint Center Sprint Center is a large , multi - use indoor arena in downtown Kansas City , Missouri . The building is located at 14th Street and Grand Boulevard , on the east side of the Power & Light District . The arena ' s naming rights partner is the telecommunications company Sprint , whose headquarters is in nearby Overland Park , Kansas . Sprint Center opened to the public on October 10 , 2007 , and a concert on October 13 , 2007 by Elton John was the first event held at the arena . The arena seats more than 19 , 000 people and has 72 suites . Sprint Center has effectively replaced Kemper Arena , which was built in 1974 , just a few miles away in the southern portion of the West Bottoms . Additionally , the College Basketball Experience , which includes the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame , is connected to and located directly north of Sprint Center . The Sprint Center is home to the Kansas City Command of the Arena Football League . The Command ( formally the Brigade ) played the 2008 season at Sprint before returning for the 2011 Kansas City Command season Sprint Center also hosted the 2008 Big 12 Men ' s Basketball Tournament , and in addition hosted the first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Men ' s Tournament and the regional rounds of the 2010 NCAA Women ' s Tournament . Kansas City has entered into discussions with the NHL and the NBA regarding possible expansion or relocation of a professional hockey and / or basketball franchise for the arena . Details . Ground was broken for the arena on June 24 , 2005 , and construction completed on October 11 , 2007 . The final design , by the Downtown Arena Design Team ( a collaboration of the architectural firms Populous ( then HOK Sport ) , 360 Architecture , Rafael Architects and Ellerbe Becket ) , was selected in August 2005 . The construction manager responsible for the entire project was M . A . Mortenson Company , based out of Minneapolis , MN . The complete exterior glass facade 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 13 , 000 m² ( 139 , 932 square feet ) of double insulated glass and 5 , 000 m² ( 53 , 820 square feet ) painted aluminum curtain wall panels . In addition 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 , 000 , 000 lbs of rebar used in construction was detailed , farbricated and supplied by The Carter - Waters Corporation of Kansas City . The arena also features a work of public art , The Moons , by artist Chris Doyle , commissioned by the Kansas City Municipal Arts Commission ( KCMAC ) . The Big 12 Conference Men ' s Basketball Tournament was held at Sprint Center in 2008 , marking the tournament ' s return to Kansas City after three years in Dallas and Oklahoma City . After returning to Oklahoma City in 2009 , the Sprint Center again hosted the tournament in 2010 and 2011 . It is scheduled to be the tourney site through 2014 . The arena also houses the College Basketball Experience and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame which , is located at 1301 Grand Boulevard connected to Sprint Center . The outside of the arena is entirely glass . Inside it has state of the art technology with a 360 degree LED video screen . This facility allows Kansas City to draw most concerts touring the United States . There has been speculation of an NBA or NHL team relocating to Sprint Center , but as of yet no definitive plans have been announced . Sprint Center opened on time and on budget on October 10 at 10 : 10 am . A tour lasted from 10 : 10 am – 10 : 10 pm for those who wanted to see it to grab a ticket at the box office . The tour consisted of the College Basketball Experience , two open concession stands : " Taco Taco " and " Oak Street Pizza " ; a free drink from UMB Bank and other free items : a UMB Bank cup , a UMB Bank frisbee , and a UMB Bank ice scraper . UMB Bank is the only ATM in the new arena because it is a Sprint Center Founding Partner along with Farmland , The University of Kansas Hospital , QuikTrip , and Olevia . There are other Sprint Center Founding Partners : H & R Block , Toyota , American Century Investments , YRC Worldwide , and Time Warner Cable of Kansas City . Arena users . Notable concerts . Linkin Park performed on January 29 , 2011 as a part of their A Thousand Suns world tour Possible major - league sports . The Kansas City Brigade played at the Sprint Center for one season before the original AFL folded after the 2008 postseason . However , the revamped AFL brought arena football back to the Sprint Center in 2011 , with the team playing as the Kansas City Command . William " Boots " Del Biaggio , III , made an offer to purchase the Nashville Predators of the NHL with the intention of bringing the team to the Sprint Center . However , Del Biaggio has since joined a group of Nashville investors in an effort to keep the Predators in Nashville . In June 2008 , Kansas City ' s hopes to land the Predators took another blow as Del Biaggio ran into legal trouble over a multitude of unpaid loans , culminating in him filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy , effectively ending any chance of Del Biaggio moving the Predators to Missouri . On January 10 , 2007 , it was reported that the Los Angeles Clippers have taken an interest in moving to the arena . New York Islanders owner Charles Wang announced the Islanders will play a preseason game September 22 , 2009 at the Sprint Center against the Los Angeles Kings . Local media reported that anonymous team sources stated the game was a test of the Kansas City market . In 2007 , Kansas City and the Sprint Center also attempted to attract relocation of the Pittsburgh Penguins , but the Penguins reached a deal with the City of Pittsburgh to build a new arena , the Consol Energy Center , and stay in Western Pennsylvania . The Sprint Center had also been looked at as a possible relocation spot for the NBA ' s New Orleans Hornets and the Sacramento Kings ( the latter of which had previously played in Kansas City ) before both teams settled their local issues . Transportation . Kansas City International Airport is located 15 miles ( 24 km ) northwest of Downtown Kansas City in Platte County , Missouri . The arena ' s vicinity is served by five interstate highways : and four U . S . Routes :