A Great Gathering Place.

With first-class meeting facilities, central location, reasonable rates, and friendly workforce, Kansas City pulls out all the stops to guarantee a successful meeting, convention, or special event. And, with new facilities and an ever-growing list of top-notch attractions, Kansas City offers broad appeal for those planning, and those attending, a meeting or convention.

Our centerpiece: an eight square-block Kansas City Convention Center, conveniently located in the heart of downtown. The complex was expanded in 1994 and now boasts the largest contiguous, column-free exhibit hall in the nation, H. Roe Bartle Hall, which offers 388,800 square feet of exhibit space that is divisible into five sections. The complex also features the 133,000-squarefoot Conference Center (completed in 1994), the art deco Municipal Auditorium, Barney Allis Plaza (a park popular for special events) and a 1,100-car covered parking garage. The Kansas City Convention Center offers a highly functional, aesthetically pleasing meeting site. Rental rates are very competitive, with planners receiving great value for their meeting dollars. Bartle Hall is also one of the few convention centers in the country with an open catering policy An in-house caterer is available for group events, but planners are also welcome to investigate other catering establishments for price, quality, and value.

Additional meeting facilities owned and managed by the City of Kansas City are utilized for numerous sporting events, public shows, conventions, concerts, and special events. Just three minutes west of downtown, the 14-acre Kemper Arena and American Royal complex provides more than 627,000 square feet of additional facilities including the 19,500-seat Kemper Arena.

Meanwhile, Kansas City's always-plentiful inventory of hotel rooms (both downtown and citywide) has steadily increased, making the convention and meeting planning process not only a less costly proposition than ever, but an easier one, too. The Kansas City area now offers more than 25,000 rooms, 12,000 of which are committable for conventions.

A City on the Move

Kansas City is constantly on the move with new attractions and enhanced facilities. A new 54,000-square-foot exhibit hall at Crown Center opened in early 2000. Crown Center is a three-level shopping, dining, and entertainment complex surrounded and founded by the world's largest manufacturer of greeting cards--Hallmark. The new Crown Center Exhibit Hall, located a few blocks south of downtown, is anchored by the Westin Crown Center and the Hyatt Regency Crown Center hotels.

Crown Center is also linked directly to the largest renovation project in the city's history. In late 1999, Kansas City welcomed the rebirth of its magnificent Union Station. The $253 million project included the addition of an interactive science center, Science City Union Station is a grand site for special events with its tall, ornate ceilings and decades of history.

Kansas City's excitement continues to build with construction underway and ahead of schedule on the Kansas Speedway. The $197 million super speedway opens in 2001 with seating for 75,000 spectators and parking for 65,000 vehicles. The speedway design includes suites, hospitality chalets, and other fan amenities.

Visitors Enjoy World-Famous Attractions

A favorite place for visitors is the world-famous Country Club Plaza, a 14-square-block outdoor shopping and entertainment district resembling a European village with its towers, fountains, and sculptures. Shoppers also love the trendy boutiques and galleries in the historic Westport area; the City Market which is the Midwest's largest outdoor farmers market; and the diverse Crown Center. Sports fans can view professional football, baseball, hockey, soccer, and tennis. There's constant action at the gaming tables at Kansas City's four casino complexes.

Of course, the personality of this great city lies in its great variety of cultural and historic amenities. Art lovers should not miss the impressive Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art or the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Other "must-sees" include the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, the American Jazz Museum, and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. For performing arts, the vast selection includes the renowned Kansas City Symphony Lyric Opera, Kansas City Ballet, and Missouri Repertory Theatre.