Old Town-to-arena route becomes open for business again

The seven-month, $1.68 million improvement to the north entrance at Intrust Bank Arena opened on Monday, just in time for the Foo Fighters concert Monday night.

It’s the first major improvement to the seven-year-old arena, which will host first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games in March and in 2021. Sedgwick County owns the arena and SMG operates it.

The north entrance will be able to handle much more traffic for major events, including space for 10 metal detectors, four more than before the project began.

Arena manager A.J. Boleski said about half of foot traffic into the arena now comes from the north, many presumably from Old Town restaurants and bars. Patrons will now have room to move on the north side, plus a choice of an escalator to the arena concourse or a new staircase.

But if a ticket-holder has been in Old Town for any length of time before an event, may we suggest riding the escalator and taking the stairs another time?

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Old Town-to-arena route becomes open for business again."