Hy-VEe Arena
An Arena for All Ages & Abilities
basketball courts. Foutch is the CEO of Kansas City-based Foutch Brothers LLC, a company that specializes in re-purposing historic buildings for residential and commercial use. “We were already looking at some locations for a big basketball facility,” recalled Foutch, “when someone called me and asked, ‘Did you hear they’re trying to tear down Kemper? Can you try and figure out something that would save it?’ Serendipitously, those two things happened at the same time.” As Foutch considered the possibilities, one more element—a personal one—came into play. As the parent of two young athletes, he had recently spent a lot of time thinking about how to help them strike a balance between developing their skills, staying healthy, and still enjoying being kids. “That’s what lit the fire and made me think that maybe this could work,” said Foutch. “We’ve saved so many historic buildings. This was just another
building—and I think maybe deep down I was looking for another challenge.” If Foutch wanted a challenge, he certainly got one. SIX YEARS OF HURDLES “There were so many times we should have stopped and walked away from this,” said Foutch, recounting the six years that went into saving and transforming Kemper Arena. “It’s ironic that I was a hurdler on the track team in college—because every time a new hurdle was put up, we’d get over it… and then there was another one right there.” “I was sweating bullets for sure. We closed the deal with three hours left in the day before the sub-contractors were going to walk away.” Those hurdles included numerous city council meetings, public hearings, pushback from the American Royal and its backers, lawsuits, changes in tax- credit policy, and securing bank loans. But Foutch’s vision for the building proved more powerful, and more
economical. Tearing down the building would cost the city $10 million. Keeping and re-purposing the historic building would open the door to $14 million in tax credits, as well as the potential for increased economic development in the West Bottoms. His plan gained the support of the Kansas City Council, and in February 2017 the city sold Kemper Arena to Foutch Brothers for $1. The developer finally signed a contract with McCownGordon Construction in September 2017 and work on the project began, but then they hit another hurdle. “There was another major hiccup in funding, and we didn’t actually close on the bank loan until March 29, 2018,” said Foutch. “I was sweating bullets for sure. We closed the deal with three hours left in the day before the sub-contractors were going to walk away.” Despite that shaky start, the new Hy- Vee Arena hosted its first event—an international pickleball tournament— in September, ahead of its October grand opening.
18
WINTER 2019
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter