I think there will be considerably higher opposition to moving the Royal's downtown than there was for KCI. That said, I think the city did a good job educating the voters on the two main issues regarding the new terminal: 1. Who pays for it and 2. The uncompromising nature of the circular terminal arrangements with regards to converting to a modern and comfortable experience. The city got an A for 1 (that message was received loud and clear) and a B for 2 (I still think many are skeptical about not having huge security lines and long walks at the new airport).GRID wrote: ↑Wed Nov 23, 2022 12:52 pm It does seem like the Royals had to know that this would be the initial reaction and wanted to get out in front of it. Hopefully they will really start putting some good info out there for the public to get excited about.
It seems like the Royals will be doing this without the Chiefs though. So the extended sales tax may be only for the Royals and the Chiefs are in more of a holding pattern till after the World Cup mode to really do anything major. So it would be hard to tell Jackson County voters that supporting the Royals downtown also means keeping the Chiefs at the TSC.
I don't know if trying to deal with both stadiums at the same time would be too much anyway. Deal with the Royals and then deal with the Chiefs a few years later?
KC really has its hands full right now with all this and despite my concerns, it really is an exciting time for the city.
This time around, the Royal's management will need to educate on the city on the viability of downtown and address crime, traffic and parking concerns and perhaps more importantly convince people why it's needed particularly if public funding is required. They are two different problems. I think people in this metro simply just do not go downtown or go so rarely that it seems like a formidable black box that they know nothing about.
If I were the Royals, I would point out that the TSC is served by two major highways. Downtown is served by I-35, I-29, I-49 (via Watkins drive), I-70 US 169, Southwest Trafficway and a host of smaller streets and boulevards. The ways in and out are considerably more numerous than TSC. I think people will find that ballparks in the city empty out better than those dependent on one or two major highways. People that rarely go downtown also do not know where to park. It doesn't matter if half the area is covered by lots and garages; it's simply a black box to most. They don't know where the public garages are and what the rules and costs associated with them are. I really don't know myself. I am hoping the Royals would have a plan to make that known and work with all the parking companies downtown currently. I think the TSC arrangement is very reassuring for most people; there is always enough parking and the destination is always visible.
But the biggest issue will be financing. Unlike KCI, a stadium won't be funded by user fees. That will take the hard sell. Extending a tax will be much easier to digest than a new tax but still a hard sell.