Kansas City, Mo. ? The arena talk is heating up in the Kansas City area, with officials in downtown Kansas City, Olathe and Wyandotte County pursuing building the metropolitan area’s first arena in nearly three decades.

In Kansas City, the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission, backed by Mayor Kay Barnes, is expected to release a study in early December on the feasibility of building a downtown arena.

The Olathe city government has given Springfield developer John Q. Hammons until Feb. 12 to submit his plan for a complex that includes an 8,000-seat arena, among other attractions.

In Wyandotte County, John Ehlart, owner of the new minor-league baseball team there, wants to develop a 7,500- to 9,500-seat arena next to the new ballpark.

National experts and local leaders acknowledge that the area probably could not support three, or even two, new arenas.

“In terms of overall regional planning, we’re cannibalizing each other,” said Bill Hall, chairman of the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission.

If all three plans go forward, though, it would produce the biggest sports building boom since the Truman Sports Complex and Kemper Arena opened in the early 1970s.

All three projects are looking to some of the same sports to fill their schedules – including indoor soccer, arena football and minor-league hockey.

Officials in the three communities generally believe that the first community to build an arena will attract the necessary teams and events.

“I think clearly, first in wins,” said Mike Thiessen, who represents Wyandotte County’s ballpark and arena developers.