Under the current design, the center would contain one hall for the Kansas City Symphony and another for opera and ballet. Planners are now considering a single, multipurpose auditorium (an approach that was adopted and then rejected in 2003) or a center built in phases, with one hall to be built immediately and the other added when enough money is raised.

A third possibility is building a single hall while renovating an existing building, such as the Lyric Theatre, where the orchestra currently performs.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for August, but architect Moshe Safdie said that a change to the design could delay construction for several months.