Kansas City Power & Light District

Ridiculous management. Over sold concert with ridiculous security. More worried about keeping people out, than keeping them safe. 1 bathroom (yes one bathroom) for the entire venue. So packed you physically could not get to the bathroom (or buy a drink). Completely unsafe. In the wake of the Great white tragedy a few years ago and now the Orlando tragedy, how the fire marshal can allow this to stay open is beyond me. Other than money driving a revitalization of the downtown area, this would be shut down. Without a doubt, the absolute worse experience I have ever had at any venue and the most pathetic «security» team you could put together. Only in KC would this unsafe environment be allowed to continue. I hope they make changes quickly before they are the next news story.
I am sure if this was a concert that was only ½ sold out, it has potential to be an amazing place. Just limit the ticket sales and get a real security team that knows how to manage traffic, not just a gate.

I was exploring and visiting KC for a few weeks while my husband was working. I went online to find events happening in the city. Granger Smith was playing one weekend night and so we decided it would be fun. This place is so cool. It’s like a square filled with people, bars and restaurants. You can buy a drink and walk around with it. The stage and music speakers are top notch. I had never heard of Granger Smith before and the concert was amazing. People are super friendly in KC. It made me want to buy a loft downtown. This is a cool place. We dined at Bristol and I had the best fish ever. KC is an awesome city. We had a blast at the Power and Light District!!!

Hey KC PNL, here’s a great idea… don’t over sell tickets to small venue concerts like the Lumineers. Thanks for making me listen to them OUTSIDE the venue because you were over capacity. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Charging $ 91.00 per ticekt and then denying me enterance and NO refund. No wonder this whole establishment is goinng to the toilets. Pass on anything you will ever have. You haven’t been open for 10 years yet and I can’t imagine how you even survive… poor management, also poor security with sticks up their asses… what did you do, choose the people that couldn’t be legit police officers?!

Truly modern mans greatest accomplishment. The engineering feats demonstrated by the waitress as she transported 50 000 shots of fireball across the semi crowded dance floor (populated by the wonderful dance skills of the denizens of Kansas cities fraternities) and the architectural ingenuity to make so many collars pop so straight… truly an impressive sight to behold.

It’s funny to read reviews about how awful Power and Light is. Certainly the bars and restaurants aren’t all that unique and are often a chain. The weekends aren’t for everyone either. I myself wouldn’t want to hangout there much. I am giving it 5 stars because of what it has helped do for our downtown. If you go back 10 years, you would hear crickets in the same area during the day and night.
People from all over the Midwest are coming to our city to experience what we have. The Power and Light District played a large part in that.
I should point out the free concerts in the summer, the 1000“s of people who flocked there to watch the World Cup, Sporting KC, Chiefs and how can you forget seeing the celebration of our Royals that occurred there.
So what if it’s not for everyone. If it keeps brining people to our city along with Sprint Center that is great. Without either of those, one could argue nearly all of the other parts of downtown would still be waiting for people to come in an develop. The Cross Roads, River Market and the West Side all have seen faster success as a result.
In short, it’s a great place to meet up before a concert, a great place to grab a beer every now and then and a great place to gather to watch our local sports teams.

We came down here for the NYE party and it’s definitely a neat area of KC. There is a main outdoor area where the band was playing and then there are bars both on the first and second floors in a U form that all face the main area where the bands set up.
It’s really nice to be able to move from bar to bar and not have to toss your drink since they check your ID before entering the area you’re able to walk around outside with your drink and get a little fresh air. I imagine this air is significantly more pleasant in the summer than it was on NYE. It was a pretty cold choice for a venue and the negative is that you don’t only wait in line to get into the main area but then you also have to wait in line out in the cold outside every bar.
Outside of this little area is a collection of really nice restaurants, bars, and lounges. There’s definitely something for everyone down here.

Hell on earth.
Earth on hell.
The worst Johnson County swine.
Makes Times Square look like St. Barth’s.

Love the mix of restaurants, entertainment venues, bars, and shops in the Power & Light District. Love that it’s easily walkable (give or take some road construction mess). Love that public transportation is being upgraded to improve access to other areas of town. Doesn’t get five stars because of the ongoing road construction and occasional parking issues. But it’s still one of the best entertainment districts I’ve experienced.

WORST PLACE EVER!!! If you want someone to steal your money for the smallest reasons or deny your entrance for NOTHING, come here. If you want to have a good time — stay faraway from this place.

I really wish that we had something like this in St. Louis! BPV doesn’t compete.
The atmosphere here is awesome. I loved walking up and seeing all the Royals fan just hanging out watching their team playing on the big screen. It was like a huge party with thousands of your close personal friends.
The revitalization of the area is amazing. There is something for everyone. You won’t be disappointed.

It’s pretty cool how they can have all the bar scene in a few block radius downtown. I would have never thought Kansas City party life would have been like this.

Wish ‘cops’ were friendlier about notifying no alcohol may enter. The layout was outstanding and beautiful. Definitely great place to go when weather’s warm…

Love this place! With so many restaurant options, you get such a wide selection of food and beer, plus the opportunity to watch a game on the largest screen outdoors in a great environment with friendly people. I make it a point to come here every time I’m in KC. LOVE IT!

I was very impressed with this area overall. It seems to be growing, as I saw a lot of lofts being built/​buildings renovated.
When the lights come on at night the area looks amazing. It is great to walk around the streets and see the sights. I lucked out booking our stay in this area. We had a great time.
Thumbs up KC! 10 Happy Halley puppies wagging tails. Great job!

Did you know that the nation’s largest World Cup of 2014 watch party was hosted at KCPL District? It was Epic, you could not hear yourself think, standing shoulder to shoulder in the humid heat, cheering, hoping, feeling crushed and doing it with 1000’s was an emotional roller coaster. Kansas City loved it. We weren’t individuals we were Kansas City staking our claim on the world stage of sports and we put a pretty good dent in that day USA vs Ghana.
After that nothing ever really came close for me at KCPL but thats ok at least I had my day. I’ve been to their free summer concert series and it was fun. Weekend of Fourth of July, some good memories their, but I do not go just for the hell of it on a Friday or Saturday night. I’ve heard the term «meat market’, ‘RoofieVille’ thrown around and not fondly. Bachelorette parties seem to be popular here, and if you do go on Fri/​Sat. evening you will witness a sea of newly minted drinkers, a bunch of early 20 somethings. If you are a young 20 something lady, lie to me, do not tell me you are going here on such a night.
When you first walk in it’s a huge two story rectangle space with a big open court yard, a «beer garden’, bar, small fountain surrounded by some seating. If stand in the middle and do a 360 you see all bars and some restaurants. A lot of the food offerings are really good and some not. Drinking establishments like Shark Bar beach party with 90s music, Howl at the Moon dueling pianos crowd involvement, Mosaic Johnson County yuppies vibe, Tengo Sed Cantina tequila shots and stripper poles, PBR Big Sky line dancing mechanical bull, Irish pub and you can visit all plus more in a night. They have a dress code that mainly pertains to the fellas like no baggy pants. Forget trying to find easy access parking, they have parking garages but fill up quick, and driving through here is bumper to bumper at a mile an hour. If going for a night event go early to find a spot both in parking and to take in say concert. This is the weekend/​event night life, day is a 180.
Day gives offerings like sushi, steak, seafood, ribs, burgers, burritos, you name it I’m pretty sure you could find it. Through out the year their are family oriented events as long as they are not carding the whole family can come. New Years eve they throw a ticketed bash, I think $ 80 a pop and drop $ 1000 cash at midnight. You can rent out the space, been to one of those, company rented it for a little office summer party. KCPL district offers a lot and it’s evolved for the better since opening. Personal favorite Alamo Draft House and dine in theater.

FUN!
We were in Kansas City for the weekend and decided to go to the Kansas City Live area within the Power and Light District. This was during the Final Four playoffs which was playing on the giant tv screen. Most of the people there were watching the game and having a good time so this made for a festive mood! This venue is outdoors but is covered and has several bars and restaurants that you can sit at either indoors or out. We chose to sit outside on one of the couches and had cocktails/​beer. The ambiance was really nice and our waitress was great. This is really a great place to come and relax and hang out or people watch! When we are in KC again, we would definitely consider visiting KC Live again.

This place only earns three Unilocal stars on the spectrum of similar types of places. 75% of the restaurants are only mediocre and terribly overpriced. If you like going to clubs there’s probably at least one that you would enjoy. The clubs are very expensive as well though. there are a handful of local businesses but primarily everything is a chain. Parking can be terrible especially when there’s an event at the Sprint Center. I went to see a movie at the AMC Midland and it took me over 30 minutes to find a parking space. that’s pretty unbelievable. Plus there’s a huge tax that you have to pay on everything you buy in that certain Power and light district. i’ve had some good evenings here and some fun times but in the end it’s just too overpriced. i’ll certainly return but I won’t be happy about the price I have to pay…

DO NOT buy the Power and Light District gift card.
You assume you’ll be able to use it at every place that is listed on their website, but no no no… A lot of restaurants in the middle of the P+L district don’t accept this card — including Drunken Fish, The Mixx, Chipotle, Howl and the Moon, The Bristol, etc…
I learned that today when I tired to use it at Chipotle. I called the number on the card to confirm, the representative told me that I should have asked about it before purchasing the card.
What a scam!

I’ve been here multiple times and every time it’s a great experience. If you just want to come down to one of the bars with a couple friends, great. if you want to come down at night for a giant party half the city is at, even better! Great variety of bars from a cantina, to a redneck bar, to the upscale lounges. I’ve never been here for a concert but it looks like it would be awesome. I love the two levels of this place and the bridge in the middle. Definitely a modern, unique spot. I really need to get back and try more of the places down here.

When visiting downtown Kansas City, it’s just about impossible to miss the Power & Light District: several square blocks of bars, restaurants and shops located in the city center near the giant sporting arena. While it may not be worth a trip on it’s own, if you’re downtown anyway you might as well check it out– and perhaps have a beer (or several) and a bite to eat while you’re at it!
Looking up some info on ‘things to do in KC’ prior to a trip there, one of the first results was the Power and Light District. I wasn’t even quite sure what it was– a business? A shopping center? An actual historic ‘district’ of the city? Well, as it turns out its somewhat of a hybrid of these… Mostly an area of downtown devoted to entertainment, dining, and drinking and featuring a huge open-​air covered area complete with light show, a booming sound system, and a stage at one end with one of the largest TV screens I’ve ever seen.
My impression was that most of the businesses here are chains, somewhat overpriced, and without any *really* interesting to draw people in. I guess it’s just one of those things where people go there because people go there? The stage area was kind of neat, but they were showing a live broadcast sporting event (yawn) when I stopped by, complete with commercial advertisements at headache-​inducing volume.
The one establishment here that I returned to multiple times during my visit to KC was the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, which features hundreds of beers as well as decent pub grub, and is located right on the edge of the P&L District. Other than that, I thought the best part about this place was the people watching.