Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City)

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Municipal Auditorium
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Facility statistics
Location	301 West 13th Street, Kansas City, Missouri
Coordinates	39°05′54″N 94°35′11″W / 39.098353, -94.586416
Opened	1935
Renovated	2007
Owner	Kansas City, Missouri
Operator	Kansas City, Missouri Convention and Entertainment Facilities
Construction Cost	$6.5 million
Architect	Gentry, Voskamp & Neville Hoit Price & Barnes
Former names

Tenants
UMKC Kangaroos (1935-present) Kansas City Kings (NBA) (1972-1974) Kansas City Attack (NPSL) (1991-1992)
Seating capacity
7,316 permanent+3,405 temporary (Arena)^[1] 2,400 (Music Hall)^[2] 600 (Little Theatre)^[3]

For other uses, see Municipal Auditorium.

Municipal Auditorium is a multi-purpose arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The arena opened in 1936 and features art deco architecture. It is home to the University of Missouri–Kansas City Kangaroos basketball team.

As of 2007, Municipal Auditorium had hosted more NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament games (83), regional finals (13) and Final Fours (9) than any other facility. The arena also hosted three of the first four Final Fours, but has not hosted a tournament game since 1964.^[4]

Municipal has hosted the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament since 2003, held every year in early March. When Kansas City hosts the Big 12 tournament, women's games take place here.

Municipal is connected to the H. Roe Bartle Convention Center by way of skywalks over 13th and Central streets. An underground walkway through a public parking garage provides access to the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, Holiday Inn Aladdin Hotel, and the Folly Theater.

An example of the art deco details found throughout Municipal Auditorium.

The Auditorium was one of the buildings built in 1934 as part of a "Ten Year Plan" championed by various local politicians including Harry S Truman and Thomas Pendergast. Other buildings in the plan included the Kansas City City Hall and the Kansas City branch of the Jackson County Courthouse.

The art deco architecture features were a characteristic design by Hoit Price & Barnes which also designed the Kansas City Power and Light Building at about the same time. The other architect firm in the design Gentry, Voskamp & Neville was to design the Truman Library.

It replaced Convention Hall which was directly across the street and was torn down for parking in what is now called the Barney Allis Plaza.

When the building opened in 1935 it was called by the Architectural Record "one of the 10 best buildings of the world that year" ^[5]

In 2000 the Princeton Architectural Press called it one of the 500 most important architectural works in the United States.^[6]

The 19,500-seat Kemper Arena was built in 1974 to accommodate Kansas City's professional basketball teams that had been playing at the Auditorium. The Kansas City Kings played their first two seasons at the Auditorium, then returned for the majority of the 1979-80 season after the roof of Kemper Arena caved in on June 4, 1979.

Preceded by Cincinnati Gardens	Home of the Kansas City-Omaha Kings 1972 – 1974	Succeeded by Kemper Arena
Preceded by Patten Gymnasium Hec Edmundson Pavilion McGaw Hall Cow Palace Freedom Hall	NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Finals Venue 1940 – 42 1953 – 55 1957 1961 1964	Succeeded by Madison Square Garden McGaw Hall Freedom Hall Freedom Hall Memorial Coliseum