Rentals
Rockhurst publishes more useful accessibility detail than almost any school in the area, and one sentence on its own pages is worth the whole planning exercise: Municipal Auditorium involves "a long walk on steep ramps", plus stairs.
That is the university telling you, in its own words, what the building is like. Take it seriously.
Where it is
Commencement is off campus at Municipal Auditorium, 301 W 13th St, downtown, not at 1100 Rockhurst Road. Hooding and pinning are separate and are on campus (Convocation Center in spring, Arrupe Auditorium in December, and Rockhurst notes Arrupe requires navigating stairs).
Afterwards, graduates do a "Hawk Walk" a few blocks to KC Live!.
Confirmed date: Saturday, May 8, 2027.
What Rockhurst publishes for guests
From its dedicated commencement accessibility page:
- Accessible seating is in the second-floor general seating areas, reached via the right side of the main lobby, using the elevators and ramps.
- "Accessible seating is not reserved and will be open to all guests at noon on Commencement day." First come, first served, so arriving early is not a nicety here.
- For ASL, the university recommends sections 27 and 28.
- "An accessible bus will be available at the corner of 13th and Central Street to shuttle Commencement Ceremony attendees to the Hawk Walk at KC Live!" It runs until 5 p.m. Rockhurst is one of only two schools in the area that publishes a shuttle of any kind, and the only one with an accessible bus.
- "Ushers and Rockhurst staff will be available to assist all guests upon arrival."
- And the line that brings people to us: all venues have accessible seating, but Rockhurst University does not provide mobility equipment.
Questions go to graduation@rockhurst.edu. There is no published accessibility phone number, so email early rather than hoping to reach someone in commencement week.
The parking trap
Rockhurst's commencement page mentions free daytime parking in the Power & Light District: up to three hours with merchant validation, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Read the small print: that is weekdays only.
The 2027 ceremony is a Saturday. Do not plan your day around weekday validated parking. Rockhurst's own advice for downtown is the honest one: "Please allow yourself plenty of time to find parking."
Putting it together
The picture the university paints is consistent: a downtown building with steep ramps and stairs, first-come accessible seating that opens at noon, staff who will help you but no equipment to lend, and parking you should expect to hunt for.
If the person you are bringing can manage the auditorium once seated but not the ramp, the hunt for parking, and then a few blocks to KC Live! for the Hawk Walk afterwards, that is exactly the gap a rented scooter or transport chair closes. The accessible bus solves the last leg; it does not solve the first.
We deliver to your hotel or home, set up and charged, and collect afterwards. Rockhurst lists two Plaza hotels it has visit agreements with: Courtyard by Marriott on JC Nichols Pkwy and Hampton Inn & Suites on Summit. Both are easy deliveries for us. Note those agreements are for campus visits generally, not a commencement block, so do not expect a graduation rate.
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.