Kansas City Symphony Announces New Live Music Venue

A new venue allows the Kansas City Symphony to expand the capacity and diversity of its programming, while also providing a new home for dynamic live music acts that draw crowds in the 4,000 to 6,000 range. The new venue will complement core orchestral performances at Helzberg Hall in the Kauffman Center while enabling the Symphony to strengthen its long-term future so that it can grow in service to the Kansas City community.

The new venue will host touring artists across genres and support a select number of Symphony performances that benefit from amplified or enhanced production formats.

The Symphony is never leaving the Kauffman Center. We will still hold the vast majority of our concerts there. Even after the new venue opens, we anticipate over 100 performances per year at the Kauffman Center.

The new venue will be located in the South Plaza area at 49th and Main.

We are targeting an opening in 2028. 

The new indoor venue is designed to serve audiences between 3,000 and 4,600.  

With more than 300,000 expected annual visitors, the new venue will bring a major anchor destination to an area rich in restaurants, shops and nightlife. The venue is expected to strengthen Kansas City’s appeal as a destination within regional and national performance circuits, drawing artists and tourists alike. It also offers walkability to the Country Club Plaza, supporting the broader revitalization already underway in one of Kansas City’s most iconic districts.

This venue, like all Kansas City Symphony endeavors, is driven by our commitment to enriching the lives of everyone in the Kansas City region through music. From $25 tickets to tiered seating and a wide variety of performances and artists, the venue is being designed with flexibility and affordability at the forefront, which will draw in new audiences across the community. 

The Symphony is committed to inclusive development and recognizes the importance of including a range of voices to help shape how such a venue could best serve Kansas City. This project is still in early stages, but as we continue this thoughtful exploration, we’re committed to transparency and ongoing engagement with our diverse community and partners. 

The venue will be wholly owned by the Kansas City Symphony, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, and the most prolific presenter of live music in the region. Managed and co-operated by Music and Event Management, Inc. (MEMI), a non-profit subsidiary of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO), the new venue will host more than 100 annual events, the broad majority being popular artist acts plus a few dozen Symphony performances. This expansion allows the Symphony to maintain its robust 100+ concert season at the Kauffman Center while simultaneously pioneering new musical experiences tailored for Helzberg Hall.

We look forward to sharing more details with the public as they become available.