Downtown Baseball Stadium

[DColeKC]

Trying not to talk Chiefs in here but to address the idea that tax dollars are paying for fancy luxury boxes and not average tax payers. That's bullshit! The Hunts are putting in 300 million which will very likely cover the luxury type upgrades because it's long been an understanding that it's not good practice to use tax payer money to upgrade luxury options.

The vast.. and I mean VAST majority of the money is being spent on things the average ticket buyer will be able to enjoy.
The upper level concourse with more concessions options, warming zones and covered canopy.
The addition of restrooms.
The Tailgate Area that's FREE to attend.
A much better and far less icy pedestrian bridge.
LED Ribbons boards that we all look at in which help convey visual the moments we're all cheering together.
LED screens that we all look to for replays and highlights.
Sound System that we all use to hear.
Better parking setup that we all use.

I just listed off 500 million dollars worth of projects that will be enjoyed by the cheapest ticket holder and above.

[DColeKC]

So... What happens if the county sales tax passes but the team can't get the money from the city and state? Are we paying to maintain a non-existent stadium for the next 40 years?

The money has already been discussed with the leaders of those two entities agreeing to go to bat for the team. No pun intended.

I think we should just do the small midwest stereotypical thing and say fuck it. NO! You can' have my $72 dollars a year for your big shiny stadium! I want to know what every door handle will look like and where every penny will be spent. I'd also like no one to be even slightly inconvenienced. Please fit a baseball stadium in a footprint smaller than any other MLB stadium has ever been so we can keep all our extremely busy streets open. And how dare you not put a crown on top of those "conceptual drawings".

Maybe they can extend Oak all the way to Kansas and call it "Royal Way".

Sorry for the vent here but it's one thing seeing average joes saying they'll vote no but didn't expect this on a development forum. Can't wait to come back here in a decade when none of the existing businesses that currently occupy this area of EC are there anymore. It's still dark and boring. The Star Building is a rich persons fancy car show room and East Village is still empty surface lots because we don't have reason to build it out.

This location is the next evolution of our downtowns progress. It slows so far down without this. At this point, they're presenting a conceptual business plan hoping to get financing. So many things would change after it goes from concept to reality. We should have had MLS Soccer down here but Kansas kicked our ass and now we've got a MLS stadium next to a fucking Nebraska Furniture Mart. Step right up MLB, let's "KC" this thing up.

None of this very thoughtful and thorough analysis included an answer to my question.

LOL - Sorry, very true. Rant should have been it's own post and not in response to your question.

I would say the tax dollars are contingent upon the Royals ability to secure the rest of the funds. If they can't, the new lease and tax goes away and we fall back to the original agreement that runs through 2031. This is a guess, I'm sure someone smarter than me knows the answer.

[KCPowercat]

Royals have nobody to blame but themselves here. Don't put this on the voter for asking relevant and timely questions that the royals or county can't answer.

[DColeKC]

Royals have nobody to blame but themselves here. Don't put this on the voter for asking relevant and timely questions that the royals or county can't answer.

Sure but that is what it is. At the end of the day, the question is that enough to miss out on this opportunity that none of us will see again in our lifetime? The Royals can take the blame for the piss poor effort and roll out but we are not voting on their ability to present and sell us on a downtown stadium. We are voting on a downtown baseball stadium... period. I'm not voting no to punish them for sucking at doing something they've not had to do as an organization for 50 years.

If this fails and the stadium goes to some inferior location, it will forever be on the voters. I'm willing to give them some damn grace for what they and the Chiefs have meant to this city for the last two decades... even in the bad years.

[KCPowercat]

There can be another vote before they leave. I'm a yes rn but I can't find any data to convince others why they should vote yes. That's the problem. I could easily go no if they can't produce by voting day

[Rusty Irish]

Another major point for me from this is losing the teams to Kansas further pulls the epicenter of the metro away from Downtown and further south and west into the Kansas suburbs which I think is being heavily overlooked. The two major teams are one huge thing Jackson County and Missouri still holds over Kansas in the KC border war and giving the KS suburbs more clout is bad news for the region IMO.

[Imarealperson]

I cannot believe, in my years of reading this board that a No vote is even being considered. Unreal. Go touch some grass.

[WoodDraw]

Kansas has long wanted the teams. Maybe that's where we go. I don't believe that's been successful for sporting and I don't think it'll be successful for the royals.

I'm the most yimby person that lives in the crossroads. And they lost me. Sometimes you have to look in your own backyard. I'm not taking the blame for this.

[KCPowercat]

Royals will end up downtown no matter this vote. I'd place a large amount of money on it

[FlippantCitizen]

Royals will end up downtown no matter this vote. I'd place a large amount of money on it

I agree and I would encourage anyone to vote no this time around because it will result in a better deal. If I'm wrong and the Royals end up playing Clay County or Nashville in a few years I won't lose a wink of sleep about it either.

[grovester]

Royals will end up downtown no matter this vote. I'd place a large amount of money on it

I agree and I would encourage anyone to vote no this time around because it will result in a better deal. If I'm wrong and the Royals end up playing Clay County or Nashville in a few years I won't lose a wink of sleep about it either.

Agreed, this vote is the easy button.

[DColeKC]

Royals will end up downtown no matter this vote. I'd place a large amount of money on it

I agree and I would encourage anyone to vote no this time around because it will result in a better deal. If I'm wrong and the Royals end up playing Clay County or Nashville in a few years I won't lose a wink of sleep about it either.

What exactly would be a “better” deal? The amount isn’t going to change. The length of the lease isn’t going to change. What’s a better deal? More information about the same deal? The only thing voting no this time does is push back the process back several months and reignite the push from competing counties.

I guess I don’t understand what difference it will make besides more time for opposition groups to spread their misinformation and victim advocacy.

[KC_Ari]

Royals will end up downtown no matter this vote. I'd place a large amount of money on it

Agreed. Sherman seems to genuinely enjoy Baseball and wants to be downtown. I don't buy into the doom and gloom of either or both of the teams leaving for one second. If this supposed "border war" exists between MO and KS, which I don't believe in, then MO can step in and go blow to blow with KS instead of the Jackson County voters.

[FlippantCitizen]

Royals will end up downtown no matter this vote. I'd place a large amount of money on it

I agree and I would encourage anyone to vote no this time around because it will result in a better deal. If I'm wrong and the Royals end up playing Clay County or Nashville in a few years I won't lose a wink of sleep about it either.

What exactly would be a “better” deal? The amount isn’t going to change. The length of the lease isn’t going to change. What’s a better deal? More information about the same deal? The only thing voting no this time does is push back the process back several months and reignite the push from competing counties.

I guess I don’t understand what difference it will make besides more time for opposition groups to spread their misinformation and victim advocacy.

Getting more detail is IMO better than blind faith and maybe it gives them time to actually hear the community as it relates to this specific location and make some tweaks instead of all the generic "listening" they've been doing before the site was even public.

[WoodDraw]

I know this isn't popular to say, but cordish really didn't want them to do ev. They never really wanted to put any money up. So here we are.

Go vote

[DColeKC]

I know this isn't popular to say, but cordish really didn't want them to do ev. They never really wanted to put any money up. So here we are.

Go vote

Don’t try and make this about Cordish. The city leadership didn’t want a competitive district to siphon off even more revenue for the bond backed entertainment district that got us to this point of arguing about a downtown baseball stadium.

East Village was taken off the table by our city, not Cordish. It really is in the best interest of the taxpayers.

And how do you know Cordish isn’t putting any money into this?

[WoodDraw]

I should have included mayor q in it, but I know what I’m talking about. Just want everyone to know.

They actively lobbied hard against east village. It’s okay, we all know what happened.

Let’s see if it works.

[DColeKC]

I should have included mayor q in it, but I know what I’m talking about. Just want everyone to know.

They actively lobbied hard against east village. It’s okay, we all know what happened.

Let’s see if it works.

Yeah it’s no secret. Part of his job as mayor is to protect the interests of the tax payers right? The city simply said no help for east village. Cordish of course lobbied for this particular location. I don’t know why that’s a bad thing. They’ve got hundreds of millions invested, they should be looking out for that investment.

East village has other issues but the idea it wouldn’t have helped PNL or Crossroads was number 1.

[WoodDraw]

all's fair in love and war I suppose

[dukuboy1]

Royals will end up downtown no matter this vote. I'd place a large amount of money on it

I agree and I would encourage anyone to vote no this time around because it will result in a better deal. If I'm wrong and the Royals end up playing Clay County or Nashville in a few years I won't lose a wink of sleep about it either.

Seems very anti city to be so caviler to say “you won’t lose a wink of sleep” should KC lose a MLB team. It would be a huge loss and one of the worst things to happen to the city since the flood of 1951. Obviously there will be no loss of life but the economic impact cost in loss was 1 billion and this impact will be measured in the billions..plural. The loss of sales tax & general tax revenue. The loss of free city advertising & publicity. Loss of millions of dollars each year for dozens of local charities & non-profits that help citizens. Loss of tourist revenue. The ripple effect would be seriously impactful. Careful what you so casually say “fuck it” to if you really want to see the city thrive in the long run it’s best with having the Royals in town playing ball downtown. I agree 100% the royals & their leadership completely fucked up this entire process. They deserve all the venom & criticism thrown their way. But they are starting to get things right & moving in a positive direction. I hate, hate, hate, the location chosen will displace businesses, businesses that built themselves up & took a chance on a neighborhood because they believed it what they could do. I believe they will be taken care of & should be. But as the saying goes “progress waits for no man” and given how backward ass the rest of MO is it’s up to KC & STL to still be beacons of progress