KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The latest addition to Kansas City’s downtown skyline, the Loews Convention Center Hotel, is supposed to be open for the 2020 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship.
Less than a year out, 41 Action News was given a sneak peek inside the building as crews race against the clock and mother nature to complete the project.
At more than 650,000 square-feet, the hotel will feature 800 guest rooms, 47 of which will be suites.
Mark Champa with Loews says no matter your room, your window view will be stunning.
“Looking north, you’ll have a beautiful view of the skyline of Kansas City,” Champa said during the tour. “Go east, you’ll be looking at the Power and Light District or Sprint Center. From the south and west, you’ll look at the Crossroads, Crown Center, the Convention Center and the Performing Arts Center.”
Champa calls this hotel a huge part of Kansas City’s future and a huge part of changing the national perception.
“It’s definitely not a cow town,” he said.
Adam Cox grew up around Kansas City and is now the project executive of this construction.
“It’s the first convention hotel in Kansas City in I think 35 years,” Cox said. “I think what’s happened to downtown Kansas City in the last decade is pretty astounding to see.
“It went from pretty much a ghost town to what it is today.”
Once complete, the 23-story Loews Hotel, which will have two ballrooms (including the largest in Kansas City) will have a walkway connecting it to Bartle Hall.
There will be meeting spaces, two restaurants, a fitness center, spa, indoor pool and much more.
Cox says this new building is sure to make a splash.
“The hotel, and things like the airport, put Kansas City in that league where we go and get events we couldn’t get in the past,” Cox said.
“For Kansas City, it’s great,” Champa said. “It’ll make a better convention package. We’ll be able to go after more business.”
Loews is already partnering with the Big 12 to become the official host hotel for upcoming tournaments. Hotel space and rooms are already booked for April 2020, and Champa says hotel rooms and space has been reserved for as far out at 2028.
