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“As big as you think” is the official slogan of the state of Kansas. (Debate the suitability all you like.) Now it looks like Kansas City, Missouri could up the ante a little. Apparently the US Census underestimated the population of the Kansas City metro area by about 80,000 people.

The US Census has significantly under counted KCMO’s population and that we actually have 533,117 people living here, not  the 450,000 or so previously thought. Besides the big boost in population, the study also shows that household incomes and purchasing power are much higher than conventional wisdom says, especially in supposedly poor East Side neighborhoods.

Overall, the study shows an urban economy in better shape than usually believed.  The population figure alone could be critical in getting more federal and state support for things like housing, transportation, health care, etc.

So Kansas City tops the half million mark, and the urban renaissance I want to see is a little bit closer to reality.

HT: Blog KC

The Kansas City Star speculates that the NBA won’t arrive in Kansas City anytime soon, despite the potential for bringing in spectators and ratings by drafting Kansas Jayhawk players (and–I’ll be generous here–even Missouri Tigers or Kansas State Wildcats). Is Kansas City just a big college town without the mass media market an NBA team requires?

While the grassroots organization NHL21 keeps the pulse alive for hockey, and AEG, which manages the Sprint Center, will bring an NHL exhibition game to the arena in September, there doesn’t seem to be much buzz in Kansas City regarding an NBA franchise.

After all, television ratings for early-round NBA playoff games were lower than two Royals rainouts. AEG, which is charged with bringing pro sports to Kansas City, flirted with two NHL franchises last year but has not made any public overtures to any NBA clubs other than Seattle, when SuperSonics owner Clay Bennett said he might consider Kansas City as an alternative to Oklahoma City…

Ask Brenda Tinnen, general manager and senior vice president for the Sprint Center, whether people would prefer the NBA or NHL, and the answer is always the same when she speaks to civic organizations and schools.

“It’s always 50-50,” said Tinnen. “Is there a buzz about the NBA? When you get to the point of the Stanley Cup finals and the (NBA) Western Conference championship and finals, there is a bit of a buzz. But nowhere near the buzz as when KU went to the Final Four.

“It was fabulous for the Jayhawks to win the Big 12 championship right here in Kansas City and go from that point and win it all. If we had an NBA team or an NHL team that was relevant to Kansas City, there would be a buzz.”

Personally, I think the saturation of the city with local NCAA college alums is a strength, not a weakness, where NBA potential is concern. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Would love to see an NBA team enthroned in the state-of-the-art Sprint Center, which rivals top-flight arenas anywhere.

Meanwhile, Phil Miller of Market Power wonders if the animosity between KU and MU fans would keep them from jointly supporting an NBA team, and whether franchises will use Kansas City as a bargaining chip (i.e., If you don’t give us a sweetheart deal, we’ll move to KC!) Of course, Phil is an MU alum, so nothing he says can be trusted as most of it is probably outright lies.

Ha ha ha.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the extended coverage from the KC Star (May 17-19), evaluating downtown Kansas City’s progress in the last decade. As a guy who’s lived in/near downtown for the past six years, I want nothing less than an urban renaissance. Optimistically, big strides are being made in that direction. Pessimistically, Progress could be walking a little faster. Here’s the opening paragraph:

Just looking around downtown Kansas City, it’s hard not to be proud. A cool-looking arena. A hopping entertainment district. Art galleries galore.

We all know downtown is better, but how much better?

The Kansas City Star set out to measure downtown’s progress since the dawn of the decade. The upshot: The progress has been good, but not as good as you might think — and not enough to keep up with downtown revivals in some similar-sized cities such as Denver, Charlotte and Nashville.

Quick links to some of the best info:

30 Indicators of Urban Vitality, 19 up, 11 down

Interactive Map of Downtown, Showcasing Development

And now for something totally different…

The only question is, how have I lived in/near downtown Kansas City for six years without discovering the Urban Explorers club? This is like one of those boyhood dreams realized…Mark Twain goes urban/e. Talk about an ideal way to spend quality time with the boys.

Mind-boggling.