Exciting Entertainment
Less than 30 minutes away from any location in Leawood, residents and businesses enjoy easy, affordable access to the wide variety of nationally recognized arts, culture, sports, recreation and entertainment events, and organizations that the greater Kansas City metropolitan area offers. These activities include: world-renowned museums featuring traditional and contemporary art, jazz, agriculture, and history; major league sports teams; fine dining; fabulous shopping; water and amusement parks; and more!
World Class Sports
There’s no denying that this is a sports-minded town. Fans cheer on their National Football League team, the Kansas City Chiefs, at Arrowhead Stadium, while enjoying extravagant pre-game tailgate parties. The 2012 Season marked the Kansas City Chief’s 50th year. The area’s Major League Baseball team and 2014 World Series contenders, the Kansas City Royals, delight fans next door at the “K,” Kauffman Stadium.
Sporting Park, a soccer-specific stadium near the Village West retail center in Kansas City, Kan., is the home of Sporting Kansas City, the 2013 MLS National Champions. Two Sporting players, Matt Besler and Graham Zusi, played in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. For fans of NASCAR and other auto racing, Kansas City, Kansas, is the home of the Kansas International Speedway, located just south of Sporting Park and Village West. Sports fans can also visit this area to enjoy the Kansas City T-Bones, the area’s minor-league baseball team.
The Sprint Center is Kansas City’s home for basketball, concerts, family shows, special events, etc. This arena seats in excess of 18,000 people and shares a common lobby with the College Basketball Experience, a 41,500-square-foot entertainment facility that contains interactive basketball exhibits and houses the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Amazing Fine Arts
If the fine or performing arts are more to your taste, the area offers internationally known museums, fabulous gallery districts, and several theaters. Residents visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Lyric Opera House, Kansas City Symphony, Missouri Repertory Theatre, Starlight Theatre, New Theatre Restaurant, State Ballet of Missouri, Theater in the Park, and the Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College, among others. The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opened in September of 2011 and will host the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Ballet, Lyric Opera and a number of other art organizations. Leawood also boasts an outstanding public art program and first rate community theater productions, thanks to the Leawood Arts Council, and the Leawood Stage Company.
A Rich History
It is easy to find a rich and distinctive history in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Metro area is home to the Harry S. Truman Home & Presidential Library, Liberty Memorial, Union Station, Hallmark Cards Visitors Center, Shawnee Indian Mission State Historical Site, Steamboat Arabia, Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio and the 18th & Vine Jazz District (which includes the American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum).
Abundant Nightlife
If you want to dance the night away or just relax with some friends, Westport offers the perfect blend of entertainment to satisfy your evening cravings. The entertainment district is home to several shops, art galleries, theaters, restaurants and numerous clubs and bars. Revelers can also venture to the Country Club Plaza for some fine dining and a nightcap, while Brookside offers a unique variety of shops and bars for those looking to unwind. If luck is on your side, the Kansas City area is home to several riverside casinos including Ameristar, Argosy, Isle of Capri and Harrah’s.
The massive Sprint Center arena is the cornerstone of Kansas City’s downtown revival, the Power & Light District. The eight-block neighborhood features residential developments, restaurants, themed bars, movie and live entertainment theaters, and mixed retail.
As Leawood’s Park Place, Town Center Crossing, and Mission Farms developments continue to build up, they compliment the already fabulous array of shopping and dining opportunities in and around Town Center Plaza, making Leawood a destination location for anyone looking for the ultimate entertainment and dining experience.
More Family Fun
And given the city’s focus on children and families, even the little ones have their own exciting places to visit. Families can choose from a variety of activities including Science City, Coterie Children’s Theatre, Wonderscope Children’s Museum, the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park, Kaleidoscope, the award-winning Kansas City Zoo, Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead, Theatre for Young America, Paradise Park, Powell Gardens, Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, the College Basketball Experience, and the Worlds of Fun, Oceans of Fun, and Schlitterbahn amusement parks.