Rentals
Park University's campus is in Parkville. Its commencement is in Independence, at Cable Dahmer Arena, 19100 E. Valley View Parkway, roughly 30 miles away, on the other side of the metro.
If relatives are booking a hotel near campus to be close to the ceremony, they will be booking an hour of Saturday-morning cross-town driving. That is the first thing worth fixing.
The venue is stable: the same arena appears in Park's 2023, 2024 and 2026 handbooks.
Timing
Early May, a Saturday, 10 a.m.: May 6 2023, May 4 2024, May 10 2025, May 9 2026, all Saturdays at 10 a.m. The ceremony runs two to three hours. December ceremonies existed in 2020–2021 but the current page lists none, so treat Park as spring-only.
As of September 2026 the page still headlines the past May 2026 ceremony and no 2027 date is published. The date on this page is our estimate from that pattern. Confirm the real one with Park.
What Park publishes: the best detail of any school here
From the commencement handbook:
- "Wheelchair accessible seating is available near section 107. Please ask an associate for any additional assistance needed."
- "Handicap accessible parking is available in the East & South Lots… Any vehicle may drop off a disabled patron at the front of the arena and then park their car in the parking lot."
- Parking is free for this event.
- Guests enter the east door (main entrance, Gate 1); graduates use the south door (Gate 2). Guests may drop someone needing accessibility at the east door and then park.
- Graduates needing accessible seating or stage assistance contact Michelle Forrest, michelle.forrest@park.edu, (816) 584-6357, by April 17.
- Interpreters (for graduates or guests): same contact, no later than March 20.
Those deadlines are real and they are early. March 20 for an interpreter is nearly two months before the ceremony.
The day-of rules that catch people
Park publishes several things that matter more than they sound:
- Doors open 8:30 a.m. and everyone must be seated by 9:45 a.m. for a 10 a.m. start.
- There is no re-entry. Once you are in, you are in, for a ceremony of two to three hours.
- There is no secured storage for belongings.
- Metal detector and bag check on the way in.
- Balloons and outside drinks are prohibited.
"No re-entry" plus "two to three hours" plus "seated by 9:45" is a long stretch for anyone who cannot sit comfortably or who needs to step out and move. Think about that combination honestly before the day.
Ticketing is unresolved in the handbook. It says only that a guest-ticket announcement follows the March 15 application deadline. Do not assume either way; ask Park.
What we do
We deliver a scooter, wheelchair, transport chair or rollator to wherever you are staying and collect it afterwards. Given the 30-mile gap between campus and arena, tell us which one you are actually near. We will deliver to the hotel you are sleeping in, not the campus on the letterhead.
Booking
Tell us the date, the ceremony time and where you are staying, and we will have the equipment there, cleaned, charged and ready, before you need it. Commencement weekends are the tightest dates in our year, because every family in the same position is booking the same morning. Call as soon as you know the date rather than the week before.
KC Mobility Scooter Rentals is an independent rental company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or speaking on behalf of any college or university, and we do not control any campus or venue policy. Details here were read from each school's own published pages in September 2026. Always confirm the current year's arrangements with the school before you travel.