Kansas City's NBA and NHL prospects took friendly fire today - from the city's alleged arena partner. Sprint Center manager AEG announced today it was partnering with Harrah's Entertainment to build a 20,000-seat arena just off the Las Vegas Strip.
AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke recycled the promises he made to Kansas Citians of a pro basketball or hockey franchise today in a statement released on AEG's Web site. Of course, Leiweke tailored them for a Sin City audience.
"This arena is being developed with the capability of hosting an NHL or NBA franchise from day one," Leiweke says in the statement. "We continue to have productive conversations with potential owners and are optimistic that either basketball or hockey, or both, will be played in Las Vegas when the venue opens."
Damn. Leiweke must keep a file of mad lib statements when opening a new arena - promise of professional sports team followed by city name here. That sounds familiar. So where exactly does AEG's loyalties and priorities lie?
Vegas already has a potential deep-pocketed owner: Pirates of the Caribbean and CSI producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The Vegas arena is scheduled to open in 2010.
Let's recap. KC still doesn't have an anchor tenant for the Sprint Center. And KC's partner, AEG, is now teaming up with a casino operator in Las Vegas to open an arena there. Plus, they're targeting NBA and NHL teams. Yeah. We're screwed. -- Justin Kendall
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