1. Kansas City must build on its recent successes, said assembly chairman Rick Hughes, and not become complacent. | 2. Katie Danner cited the region’s physical assets and its collaborative nature as its biggest strengths. | 3. David Hayob said Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game would provide a stage for showcasing all Kansas City has to offer. | 4. Event co-sponsor Oscar McGaskey cited partnerships as the key to improving the city’s image as a destination city.

Opportunities

As a first question, participants were asked to cite those opportunities that had the potential to elevate Kansas City’s status as a major destination city. The answers were varied and surprising.

Katie Steele Danner, director of the Missouri Division of Tourism, acknowledged the region’s “wonderful assets and its strong and vibrant sense of history and culture.” For her, however, it was an intangible, namely “the sense of cooperation” among the area’s attractions, that has made growth possible.

“I think probably the greatest opportunity is the partnerships we have in Kansas City,” elaborated Oscar McGaskey, director of Convention and Entertainment Facilities for Kansas City.

Brian Alexander, president and CEO of the National World War I Museum, agreed with McGaskey. Alexander has observed an “extraordinary willingness to partner” and cited any number of entities that have partnered with his museum, from the symphony to the public library to chamber music groups to theater groups and more. “We’ve been very, very successful because partnerships have allowed us to cross-pollinate our audiences,” said Alexander.

“We have really strong partnerships and feel like we have really strong allies,” echoed Nick Benjamin, CEO of the Power & Light District. Partly as a result, the District puts some 15,000 people Downtown every Friday and Saturday night, regardless of whether there’s a convention in town or an event at the Sprint Center.

“There’s a surprise that always hap-pens with people who never visited Kansas City,” said Mark Zimmerman, director of administration at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. “So playing to that surprise and building on the momentum of all the features we have here is our opportunity.”

David Hayob, senior manager for corporate partnerships with the Kansas City Royals, got more specific about those surprises, namely “the amazing amount of development over the last five years.”

That development includes the new Sprint Arena and the Power & Light District, both Downtown, major renovations to the stadiums at the Truman Sports Complex, LegoLand and the new Sea Life Kansas City Aquarium at Crown Center, a brilliant new addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the stunning new World War I Museum, a newly functional Union Station, and the piece de resistance, the world-class Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. As far as the opportunity, Hayob summed it up in one word, “Showcase.” The city will have that opportunity when Major League Baseball stages its All-Star game here in July.