Despite what detractors might say, metropolitan Kansas City has made huge strides in recent years. Not only is downtown experiencing a nationally recognized resurgence, but surrounding areas from St. Joseph to Lawrence, Johnson County to the Northland, are experiencing unprecedented economic growth.
Yet many in this area look with envy at cities such as Cincinnati or Portland, Indianapolis or even St. Louis. Some of this is simply the latest of this area’s Midwest modesty, the perception that “those other guys always get things right.” Or to paraphrase a self-improvement book, “I’m Okay, But You’re A Lot Better.”
Beyond this are other issues, however. Many are examining other communities for ideas of what to do, and not do, as the region surges forward. As Kansas City successfully meets challenges such as rebuilding downtown, questions such as better regional positioning acquire critical importance.
Several Kansas City area challenges involve “branding.” Both locally and nationally, this region’s approach is often disjointed, misguided or even counterproductive. Outsiders miss the region’s virtues and locals under-value what they have and can be.
Nowhere is that more evident than a comparison with Indianapolis. While Kansas City’s jazz and barbecue identity are worthy selling points, they will never have the heft and development power that Indianapolis successfully achieved by positioning itself as “the Amateur Sports Capital of the World.”
About 30 years ago, public and private leaders in Indianapolis formulated a plan to use sports as an economic development tool. Today, Indianapolis is the urban center of a multi-county region, with a thriving downtown and multi-billion-dollar industries, thanks in no small part to their vision of more than a quarter century ago.
The effort began with a $7 million tennis center, itself not a huge venture. But a subsequent track stadium and a natatorium at Indiana University both achieved national prominence, including Olympic level events. In 1987, Indianapolis hosted Pan American Games drawing 4,500 athletes from 38 countries.
None of this might be notable now except that Indianapolis continued with projects such as a Triple-A baseball stadium and the Conseco Fieldhouse Arena, completed in 1999. That was also the year, incidentally, that the NCAA moved its headquarters from Kansas City to Indianapolis.
Long-Term Effort
The story is more complicated than space here allows, and includes as many debates and false starts as other communities. Yet several elements stand out. Indianapolis represented a regional community collaborating to create a long-term strategy. Simultaneously with 1979 completion of the tennis facility, the Indiana Sports Corporation was created as a private organization to represent the city in the amateur and Olympic sports marketplace, to research and attract top sporting events and businesses to the city. It was the first “sports commission” in the United States.
This kind of work continues. In 2004, a study began examining the impact of the Indianapolis 500 and the Motor Speedway. Although their immediate economic influence is undeniable, leaders hope to better develop this potential, a dramatic contrast to development surrounding several major Kansas City facilities that, at least in hindsight, have selected the wrong location with alarming consistency.
A major yardstick for this has been the presence or absence of adjacent development, a significant weakness for projects such as the Truman Sports Complex. Even those with some development legs, like Kansas City International Airport, have yet to create neighboring expansion near anticipated levels.
One need go no further than Denver or even St. Louis to see contrast. Although neither can claim complete successes today, both have achieved higher or more rapid levels of progress through determined efforts. In St. Louis, a dramatic, light-rail connection with its downtown helped connect a facility just as isolated as Kansas City International. Using a different strategy, Denver steadily developed surrounding land in a way that is more parallel to KCI’s experience, but at a much faster clip.
Denver International Airport is arguably one of the most exciting new airport projects in the United States in the past 30 years, serving nearly 40 million passengers a year. DIA is in the top five airports in the nation and 10th in the world. From an economic development perspective, the airport’s success accelerated area development in less than 10 years, a contrast with relatively slow growth around KCI over 30. In brief, differences included additional infrastructure investments such as highways, and even redevelopment projects such as the city’s older airport, now a mixed use “new town” in the heart of the city.
