Sprint Center

Came here for the Big 12 Men’s basketball tournament and had a blast. The venue was very nice and clean, though the seats were a little tight. Our seats were in section 219 and we could still see the game very well. Beers were pricey but that’s expected. Other than the outcome of the game, I enjoyed my experience at the Sprint Center.

Do you like concerts? Do you like smoking? Then I have the place for you! Because nobody will do their fucking job and enforce the no smoking in public buildings law. Thanks for ruining what should have been the best concert I’ve been to! Instead my eyes are burning, I can barely breathe, and I reek of smoke. Also, the acoustics really suck.

Worst venue for a concert ever. Soooo uncomfortable, and cramped together. Pretty much ruined the experience of one of my all time favorite bands, sitting like a sardine crunched with an 1 ½″ gap between me and the next guy. Sound was good and view was alright from most spots. But a concert should be more alive and able to move around. But hey it’s the only large venue in town so you’re pretty much trapped into going there.

We have seen different concerts and shows here. I honestly have not been disappointed by the view or our seats.
Their staff is also always very helpful at assisting and directing you to your seats.

Great location, easy to get there from the highway. Little hard to get out after an event when local law enforcement has streets blocked off though. Lines going in have been quick for the two events I attended.
Friendly staff, clean bathrooms.

Great place for a show or a game. The only BGC is that this is the SPRINT CENTER. I have a SPRINT phone I barely get a signal. That being said, the Hockey games are great because there’s no bad seat. Concerts are good because the echo is not too bad either.

*Original Review (Posted August 26, 2015)*
I came here last Saturday for the Kevin Hart «What Now» Tour. About the show: very funny, and this was the perfect venue to host it, though, out of personal preference, I would’ve liked to see him in a smaller venue. He was absolutely hilarious — definitely a show where you are laughing much harder after the fact (the jokes kick in a lot harder later and become funnier as time goes on than they do initially).
About the facility: it’s huge! Be prepared to take about 4 escalators to get to the top. The special effects that they put in my place for the show were Grade A+, absolutely fantastic. I’ve been to many shows and concerts over the years at many venues in Canada and the United States, but I’ve never encountered any effects done as well as this one. Without spoiling too much, expect 3D-​looking, hologram-​type effects (without the glasses) — I was quite impressed.
We sat on the 200 level (216 section). The only thing that I didn’t like was that the volume controls/​acoustics weren’t spectacular. Often times through the show, the sound wasn’t very clear/​crisp, or was too loud (sounded exactly like when speakers are bleeding). Other than that, the venue was great, the staff was awesome. Everybody who worked there was super polite. Overall, a great experience in KC!
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*Edit* (as of January 23, 2016) — I came back again for the Harlem Globetrotters show on Sunday at 2pm. We bought a ticket add-​on for the magic show from 12:30−1pm. Upon getting our tickets at the box office (at 12:20pm), we found out that our two tickets were not seated together (they were in completely different sections, rows, etc.). We had asked the lady at the concession stand if she would be able to change our seats so that they were seated together. She said «ok» and went to get the manager. We stood out in the cold for 40 minutes waiting for her to see if there was anything that could be done. By 1pm, she handed them back to us stating that she couldn’t change the seats, and that when we go inside, we could look around at how occupied the venue is, in order to sit together. I don’t think it should have taken 40 minutes to come to that conclusion; as a result, we ended up missing our magic pass show (that we did pay extra for) — so that became a loss that we WERE NOT compensated for.
When we got into the venue, we did end up doing what she suggested in the end, but after looking at how full the venue was, the majority of the Sprint Center remained unoccupied… so it was kind of hard to believe our seats couldn’t be fixed. Many sections/​rows were 100% blocked off (no one can sit there), but other sections that did have people occupying it had many rows left empty with multiple seats unoccupied, as well.

Saw the Foo Fighters here and we were on the floor, great show! The venue is nice and clean. The lines entering/​exiting moved fast and the staff were all friendly. My only wish is that they had a beer spot closer to the floor so i didn’t have to go up to the main concourse every time I wanted a Boulevard Wheat!

Convenient location, right across from KCP&L, where you have plenty of dining options, bars, and clubs.
As with most of these venues, drinks and food are borderline ridiculously over priced, but there are plenty of options.
We’ve visited for several events and have never had any problems navigating the venue or with the seating. For sold out shows lines for food and drinks can get unbearable.

I’ve been to Sprint Center twice now this year. The experiences were pretty different.
You know what a big auditorium is like — many seats are nosebleeds. Some are great. Some are obstructed, depending on the stage set-​up. Tickets can be overpriced, although that’s not 100% up to the venue. Beverages are always overpriced, both alcoholic and non. The food is pricey, too.
However, Sprint Center has lots of options for food and drink, something to suit most palates. It was clean and the staff was friendly enough. I had a great side view at the Billy Joel concert and was helped enormously by generous use of the screens. The acoustics here are not fabulous.
My second visit was for a private function and was a very different experience. We enjoyed a private appetizer buffet in the Founder’s Club with drinks. The service was attentive and complete. The food was really good. The space is like a nice corporate lounge. We watched a concert from a couple of suites. The suites were comfortable and nice, complete with drinks and snacks. It’s a nice life when you’re out of the cheap seats. I hope I get back there some day.

This may be the most poorly designed arena ever. Certainly the worst I’ve ever been to.
1. There’s ONE entrance into the venue which means you wait in a giant crowd for 30 mins before you even get to the door.
2. Once in, thousands of people are expected to ride up an insanely cramped escalator together (or use the cramped stairs)
3. It’s not over. Once in the venue more lines wait for you. We had floor seats and the concert had started because it took 45 mins to just get inside and the security guard on the floor wouldn’t let people find their seats because he was «waiting for an usher». Yes. AN USHER for a 17 thousand seat venue.
4. Didn’t buy any beer or concessions because the lines for those were insane too.
Last time I’ll ever visit Sprint Center.

Great place for concerts and events! Have seen several concerts and events with most recent being Sesame Street live. Close to shopping and great restaurants.

Went to see the Black Keys here just before Christmas. It was a great show with St. Vincent opening the show. However this review is more about the venue than the concert itself.
Conveniently located next to KC’s Power and Light district, this fairly new venue is a joy to get in and out of. Well organized and quick despite the increased security since the last time I was here. I guess you never can tell when a local church with extremist views is going to turn up outside. Google Foo Fighters Sprint Center if you are unsure what I am referring too. Joking aside, the staff are great at getting people in and out quickly. The concession stands are many and varied with perhaps a small negative being no place that sells Red Bull as the jet lag hit just prior to the concert. There are many parking lots dotted around the area and leaving is not a huge problem given the size of the venue.
Sound quality is generally very good wherever your seat is although it also depends on the guy «behind the desk».
I have been going to concerts in venues of different sizes for more than 40 years and Sprint Center is one of the best.

Great location, clean environment and very nice employees. The food and beer are good.
It was only my first concert here, but it was a great experience. The seats were great and the people around us weren’t too bad. Some people tried smoking cigarettes, but were told to put them out so they do make sure the people there are abiding by the rules.
Clean bathrooms. The lines to the women’s get pretty long, but move pretty fast.

I am a fan of the Sprint Center once you actually enter the place… until then, you’re surrounded by dumb people who are unable to work in lines in order to get into the doors.
The sound is amazing, the seats are all good and the food/​beer they have is pretty decent for a big place.
I have seen 4 – 5 concerts here now and haven’t had a bad seat so that’s very refreshing when it comes to buying tickets.
The suites (if you’re ever able to check them out), are pretty cool and free food/​booze.
I’d recommend the place… but don’t expect to get into the building quick whatsoever.

I’ve attended here for a concert as well as many basketball games.
Nice people, great seats and a variety of food options (including GLUTEN-​FREE food!).
It’s a treasure that I hope maintains that status for many years to come.

I went to see the last Rush show of the Clockwork Angels Tour with a bunch of other Rush-​obsessed nuts like myself. Now, Rush is notoriously famous for being cool about letting fans bring in signs and take photos (as long as the camera has a «non-​changeable» lens) and they have been for years. More on that later…
My first incident with the Sprint Center was when we were walking down the street past the venue and my friend saw the Rush tour buses and gasped and got really excited and wanted to take some pictures — not an issue for the band, usually their buses are parked in lots where they are plainly visible to fans and people even take pictures nearly in front of them — from where we were standing on a PUBLIC street. Well, the thugs guarding the entry way decided to tell us to «keep moving» on a public street. Uhm, NO. And then when we wouldn’t leave they decided to try and bully us. Clearly these jackasses didn’t know they were dealing with a girl that partially grew up in a neighborhood in California that had a gang for every street and another girl from Brooklyn.
They tried the same act again after the show (long after the band had already left the venue) when we stood at the same corner waiting for a friend of ours, hollering at us to «meet [our] friends somewhere else» and wouldn’t shut up and stop harassing us until we started using words like «lawyer» and «lawsuit», etc… I am not even kidding. Other people actually thought they had to get off of a public sidewalk because these goons were telling them too, I, on the other hand knew that I didn’t have to go anywhere that I did not want to. One of the idiots even lied straight to my face and told me that Sprint Center owned the public sidewalk around it’s perimeter. I told him he could have the Kansas City Police that were parked in their cars across the street come and tell me how it would be possible for an arena to own a public sidewalk.
So, cut to earlier in the day, we’re all walking into the show with our little signs for the band when the usher in our line decides to lie to us and tell us that signs aren’t allowed because «the band» doesn’t want them inside. Uhm yeah, since when? I was attending the show with people who had been taking signs in since before I was born. I was about to tell the jerk to shut his lying liar hole but my friend decided to just try and go in with them anyway since all of our other buds were getting inside just fine with their signs and banners when he chased her down and made her throw them away.
BTW. Here are some pictures of fans with signs at the Sprint Center show. They were taken by THE BAND’S PHOTOGRAPHER. Yeah, as you can see the band hates signs so much they allow their photographer to take photos and post them on the band’s website.

Yeah, this place blows. It’s a nice venue but it seems that everybody working there is a bullying ass.
Suck it Sprint Center, just suck it.

I heart the Sprint Center! I’ve seen countless shows: I think Britney was my first. Tool, Madonna, Gaga, Sade, Disney on Ice to name a few more. Ringling Bros Circus, most recently.
I’ve been floor level and I’ve also been at the top most level. There are no bad seats in the house! Well unless you are at the top most row. But hey, it was Madonna and I was just happy to be in her presence.
The sound here is RIDICULOUS! While I’d prefer a smaller more intimate venue, I don’t see NIN playing at the Uptown on a major tour. I’ve seen big shows everywhere locally and outside of the Midland and the Uptown, no other venue can rock your face off like the Sprint Center can! (Just my humble opinion!)
Concession prices are STUPID! As are parking prices. You might even notice that parking prices in the surrounding areas go up when a big name show comes to town. I call bullshit on these guys and I really wish the city would/​could do something about this. I can see charging more based on proximity, but I can’t understand how it’s okay to charge $ 10 for me to park in your lot when the circus is in town, but $ 20 when Madonna is here. Shenanigans!

My husband and I came here last week to see the Black Keys, so I thought I would review it. We’ve been here many times to concerts and sporting events. For The Black Keys, we were on the other side of the venue from the stage and I just thought it was too far away. I brought my binoculars! However, that’s my own fault for waiting too long to buy tickets.
The venue itself is amazing. There isn’t a bad seat, and while some people say the seats are steep, as a short gal, I appreciate it. The tall people in front of me don’t keep me from seeing the show. The concourses are wide, the place is clean, the bathrooms are, relatively, plentiful and there are always lots of people around cleaning and picking up trash. The food is expensive, but it always is at these types of events.
Great job, Kansas City, on doing something right for a change!

I can understand why this is one of the best venues in the country. I have never had a bad experience at the Sprint Center and last night’s Aerosmith (Cheap Trick) show was no exception.
I don’t think there is really a bad seat in the center, at least I have never had a bad seat in the times I have been there.
The sound is always incredible.
Parking can be a bit pricey as the area garages have event rates and jack their prices up, but there is plenty of street parking in the area with a short walk up to the center.
The surrounding area is great for pre and/​or post event dining or drinks. There are many options for about any taste.
If a tour is coming around the region, this is the venue to see it in (with the exception of outdoors venues, but I will take outdoors in fair weather any day no matter how great the indoor venue.) :)