By Maria Carter
Kansas City, MO – For more pictures of the Sprint Center, click here.
Sprint Center employees are getting ready for the venue's first concert Elton John this Saturday. Members of the public got their first look inside the arena at yesterday's (Wednesday's) ribbon cutting. KCUR's Maria Carter reports.
More than a thousand people gathered to see the ribbon cutting and get a glimpse of the not so secret guest, Garth Brooks. The Sprint Center is one of the most visible projects in a downtown development boom, and many, including the current mayor, credited former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes for her role in downtown revitalization and specifically the Sprint Center. But for her part, Barnes says the credit should go to the voters.
BARNES: All of you have made today possible, so my congratulations to all of you. We are going to have a great time.
In August 2004, Kansas City voters approved additional taxes on rental cars and hotels to finance the 276 million dollar arena.