East Prom Relocated to The Abbott

After 15 years of East prom being held at Union Station, this year’s prom on will be held at The Abbott, located in the Crossroads. Junior StuCo is in charge of planning prom and was forced to change the location due to a double booking of Union Station.

The representative in communication with junior StuCo was fired after double booking Union Station, according to junior StuCo sponsor and teacher, Jennifer Hair. Another representative proposed that the dance be moved to Science City, but StuCo and Hair decided the space did not fit the circus theme and was too informal.

Hair also looked at Starlight Theatre as a potential location, but worried the world stage not accommodate for the estimated crowd size. After asking their representative at Union Station again for suggestions, they received a recommendation for The Abbott, a venue for weddings and corporate events.

According to Sara Soph, sales manager at The Abbott, Hair originally sent an “SOS” email three weeks ago and called to set up a tour of the event space. Soph confirmed with one of the owners that they would be able to host the dance, and from there it was a week-long turnaround.

Despite the change in location, nearly all of the plans for Union Station will be applied to The Abbott. The layout of the space allows for more decorations and a more center-driven dance floor. Without giving away any surprises – The Abbott allows for entertainment that was not available at Union Station.

The Abbott, located on 19th and Cherry, opened this year and is technically still under construction, but will be completely ready once May 6 arrives. Owners Matt and Emily Abbott have also purchased 25 buildings in the Crossroads and downtown Kansas City area, with this location being their newest. Managers Sara Soph and Kelly Geisser will be hosting three events, the most recent being a Charlie Hustle sale, before booking the East prom.

According to Soph, the space is a new, modern, clean building that should accommodate the East theme perfectly, with large chandeliers and amount of open space.

“I know if I was having prom, I would want to have it [at The Abbott],” Soph said.

According to their website, theabbottkc.com, the space features Sonoma-style finishes within the original architecture of a 15,000 square foot industrial warehouse, and it can comfortably accommodate 500 seated or 1,100 standing guests.

Hair and StuCo were also able to settle on a lower price than what Union Station would have cost, due to the amount of good public relations and free marketing The Abbott will be gaining from the dance, according to Hair.

Even though StuCo had to pay for a stage for the band, the Abbott is still about $1000 cheaper than what Union Station would’ve cost, which is not enough to lower ticket costs. But, there are about 50 free tickets, dresses and tuxes available for East students who cannot afford the costs.

“The whole goal is to get as many people as possible to come to prom, who can,” Hair said.

Junior treasurer Tom Joyce has heard a majority of positive things about the move to the new location from both the juniors and seniors he has talked to.

Senior Sydney Ashner is one of those students in favor of the new location.

“I think it’ll be a good space to be creative, is trendy, and will be great with our theme of circus,” Ashner said.

Currently, StuCo hasn’t decided on next year’s prom location. However, Union Station is giving them a 90-day courtesy hold before renting due to the miscommunication that occured this year.