People’s experience with the Sprint Center and downtown overall got upbeat reviews, according to a survey conducted opening night by the Downtown Council.

Seventy-five percent of the 95 people interviewed said parking was easy to find and 60 percent said they found a space within three blocks of the arena Oct. 13, the night of the Elton John concert.

Almost 95 percent of respondents said it was easy to find their way around downtown. Overall, 92 percent of the respondents described their downtown experience as “excellent” or “good.”

Downtown Council officials, who undertook the survey with the help of the Convention and Visitors Association, were pleased with the results of the survey.

“What really stood out was the collective hard work of the Downtown Council and the city to come up with an implementation plan for the launch of the Sprint Center really worked,” said Bill Dietrich, the council’s president.

Dietrich’s organization had 45 employees out that night. Four conducted the survey. While not a statistically accurate poll, the survey provided a snapshot of how people experienced the arena debut.

“The great thing we saw out of this was people had a great experience coming downtown,” said Alan Carr, the visitors association’s director of communications.

When asked what would bring them downtown frequently, 30 percent of the 95 people interviewed said having enough concerts and live events, 27 percent said a safe atmosphere and 19 percent said accessible parking.

When asked what they would do after the concert, 29 percent said they planned to go to a downtown restaurant or nightclub and 58 percent planned to go home.

Another question asked how often the respondents would include downtown as a future destination for entertainment and/or dining. Fifty-six percent said they would come on a weekly or monthly basis. About 35 percent said they would come on a quarterly basis.

Of the 42 people who said they would come downtown less than once a month, about half said it was because they felt it was unsafe. Other reasons cited were it was too far away or there was plenty to do closer to their homes.

Dietrich said that the perception that downtown is unsafe would change as more people visit. “It’s a perception issue from before the Sprint Center opened,” he said. “As more events go on and we have more foot traffic, more people will feel comfortable.”

Capt. Rich Lockhart said the Kansas City Police Department also was pleased with opening night.

“Elton John was center stage, a lot of people were downtown and it was largely uneventful, which is exactly what you want,” Lockhart said.

The Downtown Council plans to continue gathering information. More informal surveys are planned at future events, and the organization is preparing to do a more statistically reliable telephone poll of people throughout the metropolitan area.

To reach Kevin Collison, call 816-234-4289 or send e-mail to kcollison@kcstar.com.