Kansas City is preparing for two major developments that could reshape the city’s cultural, entertainment, and visitor landscape while creating new opportunities for meetings and events.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is advancing plans for a $170 million expansion and renovation to create a more open, accessible, and community-focused campus. The roughly 61,000-square-foot addition is expected to add new gallery space, a photography center, black box theater, restaurant, education center, and areas for programming and events. BNIM and WEISS/MANFREDI will design the addition with transparency to make all visitors feel welcome. The project aims to strengthen connections among the museum, its grounds, and the surrounding community.
The expansion could boost the museum’s appeal to event groups of all sizes. Already one of Kansas City’s signature cultural attractions, the Nelson-Atkins offers planners options for incorporating arts and culture into itineraries, receptions, and off-site experiences.
Plans also continue for a new downtown ballpark and mixed-use district for the Kansas City Royals at Crown Center. The team envisions a 34,000-seat stadium as the centerpiece of an approximately $3 billion redevelopment, with the ballpark itself estimated at $1.9 billion. Officials are targeting to break ground by May 2027 and officially open by the 2030 season as talks on agreements, infrastructure, and financing continue.
Stadium plans also include dedicated event space and a ballpark village, expanding potential uses beyond Royals games for corporate gatherings, receptions, private events, and other group functions. The “ancillary development” of an entertainment district around the new stadium could add restaurants, entertainment, and amenities, creating a new destination for planners seeking to incorporate Kansas City’s sports culture.
MEET
For 20+ years, the MEET family of products have provided regional and national resources that have kept corporate, association, medical, education, independent, and religious meeting and event planners informed about relevant vendors, industry news, tech innovations, and resources that impact and influence how and where they plan their group business.
For 20+ years, the MEET family of products have provided regional and national resources that have kept corporate, association, medical, education, independent, and religious meeting and event planners informed about relevant vendors, industry news, tech innovations, and resources that impact and influence how and where they plan their group business.
