Apr

14

Take me out to the strip mall

April 14, 2005 |

KC ShoppersMixing sports with retail seems to be the new hotness in the suburbs. KCK has the T-Bones stadium surrounded by strip malls. Two Joco suburbs have competing arena/strip mall proposals. Joco and Riverside are competing for a soccer/retail mecca.

Now there is word that Lee’s Summit is considering a proposal to build a stadium and town center for a minor league baseball team. The development at MO-291 and US 50 would feature a Zona Rosa clone with a mix of shopping, offices, houses, lofts, etc. patterned after downtown Lee’s Summit. Also included would be a hotel, conference center, and the performing arts center that Eastern Jack has long desired.

Independence Examiner: Minor league baseball and more.
KC Star: Pro team proposed for Lee’s Summit.

The best part of the story is an unfortunate choice of words used by the developer to refer to the Zona clone’s architectural homage to Main Street Lee’s Summit: “It will actually mock the downtown Lee’s Summit skyline,” Smith said. “We’ll actually mock the streetlights and everything. It’ll make you feel as if you’re downtown.”


Comments

9 Comments so far

  1. will on April 14, 2005 9:53 pm

    this got me in a rage. to me this is maybe the biggest porblem in the metro, the burbs work against the center city and no one wins. sad.

  2. mike on April 19, 2005 9:57 am

    Does the KC area need another baseball team? They can’t support the major league team that is already here. Plus, this village idea is just a copy-cat idea from the one in KCK. It would be nice if this were something new that already isn’t in the metro.

  3. Hippstar on April 19, 2005 9:18 pm

    I also like how Overland Park is dying to build an arena for no reason. It’s crazy. Then we’ll have two brand new arenas with nothing in them.

    BTW, I think the only reason the Sprint Center passed was that so many people want the stupid Big 12 Basketball Tournament, which seems like a pretty silly reason to spend $250 million. But at least it’s downtown where it should be, and now that we have it, I hope we get an NHL team for it.

  4. BlogKC on April 20, 2005 6:40 am

    If this stuff is going to pop up in the suburbs, at least it should be spread across the metro instead of concentrated out in the southwest burbs. A ballpark in Lee’s Scummit could at least balance things a little bit. So could a soccer stadium in Riverside.

  5. Hippster on April 20, 2005 9:47 am

    I agree with that. Not everything has to be by the Speedway or at 119th Street in OP. Spreading things out may even lead to people visiting different parts of the Metro.

    As it is, I’ve lived in OP for three years, and I know nothing about the MO suburbs. I have no idea where Riverside is.

  6. BlogKC on April 20, 2005 3:20 pm

    Riverside is on the north bank of the MO River, between Parkville and NKC. It’s where the Argosy Casino is located.

  7. Bill on April 22, 2005 5:07 pm

    The author isn’t biased or anything.

    Hmmm…. take your blog to the next level. Get w/it.

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