The organization also said Wednesday that it had a verbal agreement with Sporting Kansas City’s investment group to use the new facility for youth sports.

The announcements came as a Kansas City Council committee was scheduled to hold the first of several hearings to determine the future of Kemper, which has seen its usefulness drop dramatically after the Sprint Center opened.

The Kansas City Star reports (http://bit.ly/We6VIe) the city’s planning and zoning committee is considering American Royal’s proposal to demolish and replace the arena, or another plan to renovate Kemper into a regional youth sports complex.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com