KANSAS CITY, MO (CelebrityAccess) — Plans to convert the venerable Kemper Arena into an amateur sports complex took a big step forward on Thursday after the The Kansas City Council voted to sell the venue to a real estate developer for $1.
The Associated Press reports that the deal will help the developer, The Foutch Brothers, pursue more than $8 million in tax credits and other financing to repurpose the arena.
All told, the Foutch Brothers $25 million to $30 million plan would more than double the arena's capacity and create a space for indoor soccer, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics and other sports.
As well, the arena would be renamed to Mosiac Arena as part of a naming rights deal with healthcare chain Mosiac Life Care. Mosiac will operate a public health clinic that focuses in sports medicine in the arena.
The Kemper has been largely empty and a drain on Kansas City's finances when the Sprint Center arena opened in the market in 2007. – Staff Writers
