Independence Events Center’s best feature is its intimacy

I spent much of Wednesday morning touring the new Independence Events Center with Sarah Miskew, the marketing director of the new facility, and I can say with complete honesty that I found a little slice of heaven on earth.
The place is incredible.
I’ve lived in, or near, Independence most of my life and I never thought our hometown would have a place like the Events Center or someone like Miskew marketing the events that will take place when it opens in a few months.
It’s going to be home to the Missouri Mavericks, the Central Hockey League team that is the talk of the town, along with a possible concert series that will rock your socks off – whether you’re into adult contemporary, country or good time rock ‘n’ roll.
And the best thing about the center is that you’re never – let me repeat that, NEVER – going to be more than 16 rows away from the action.
It has an intimate appeal that I find lacking from so many venues. Once groups get a taste of the center, they are going to be lining up to appear in our hometown of Independence.
The seating capacity will be 5,800 for hockey, 6,100 for basketball, 6,300 for a concert with the stage at the end of the arena and 7,000 for a concert-in-the-round seating format.
The Mavericks will play on a 200- by 85-foot rink in the main building and practice on the same-size rink that will also serve as a much needed community ice rink.
“That’s a great feature,” said Mavericks vice president of communications, Patrick Armstrong, who also was along on the tour. “That is going to be a great selling point to get the players here who can help this team win right away.
“So many teams practice miles from where they skate. Here, the players go into their own locker room and play a game or practice.”
Giant scoreboards will be located in the middle of the north and south portions of the arena and a 360-degree ribbon board – much like the ones at the Sprint Center and the new Kauffman Stadium – will give the center a special, high-tech vibe.
There will be 25 suites, including party suites that individuals can rent on a per-event basis.
The center will feature an upscale lounge and bar and grill, six concession stands and seven full-service box office windows.
The concourse areas are wide and spacious and feature nine bathrooms on the event level and four on the suite level.
This place rocks, and I can’t imagine the electricity that will be flowing through the stands when the Mavericks open the season or a big-name group comes to perform in our own backyard.
Finally, we don’t have to drive downtown or across the border for a first-rate entertainment package.
And to top it all off is 2,000 free, paved parking spaces.
Independence has done itself proud with this arena, which features easy access off Interstate 70, Highway 40 and Missouri 291.
They might be playing hockey in the center, but this place is a grand slam for everyone in Eastern Jackson County.