Downtown Baseball Stadium

[Cratedigger]

A Royals vote alone can’t pass, especially with their so far abysmal public engagement.

They're just getting started. Looking at ownership, expect a "New KCI"-style push that moves the needle of public opinion (which is measurable before and after).

+1

[Anthony_Hugo98]

A Royals vote alone can’t pass, especially with their so far abysmal public engagement.

They're just getting started. Looking at ownership, expect a "New KCI"-style push that moves the needle of public opinion (which is measurable before and after).

That’s what I’ve been holding out for. So far we’ve had the “Mark VanLoh pitch” in regards to a new stadium. I’m hoping they do take a page from the airport playbook and see how well the public engagement helped to sway the opinion of that project.

[TheUrbanRoo]

I think they can get it passed without the Chiefs, I just think the Chiefs would make it alot less stressful.

[mean]

If you can't drum up actual support, just browbeat the masses until they are resigned to its inevitability because they don't have the means or will to stop it? Sounds good to me.

[normalthings]

If you can't drum up actual support, just browbeat the masses until they are resigned to its inevitability because they don't have the means or will to stop it? Sounds good to me.

IDK It sounds like most are arguing against moving downtown and not about funding stadiums (only downtown ones)

[Cratedigger]

If you can't drum up actual support, just browbeat the masses until they are resigned to its inevitability because they don't have the means or will to stop it? Sounds good to me.

IDK It sounds like most are arguing against moving downtown and not about funding stadiums (only downtown ones)

Idk I think most of what I see is some variation of “the can put it anywhere they want, if THEY pay for it”

Or

“Why do they want to move when Kauffman is perfectly fit and we JUST paid to renovate it”

[normalthings]

If you can't drum up actual support, just browbeat the masses until they are resigned to its inevitability because they don't have the means or will to stop it? Sounds good to me.

IDK It sounds like most are arguing against moving downtown and not about funding stadiums (only downtown ones)

Idk I think most of what I see is some variation of “the can put it anywhere they want, if THEY pay for it”

Or

“Why do they want to move when Kauffman is perfectly fit and we JUST paid to renovate it”

People seem to be tied to Kaufffman and TSC, willing to pump funds back into it (disregarding the massive waste of money that would be).

- Can move if they pay for it, otherwise, I only support The K.
- I have not heard that many "we just renovated it" and instead hear "I love the design of Kauffman. Renovate it"

[normalthings]

The three steps to selling the stadium are a copy and paste of the three steps to selling new KCI.


I think the first step is the least inherently apparent but also the main roadblock to moving forward.


Royals

Step 1: What we have today does not work (The current stadium requires a major overhaul).

Step 2: Replacing the current stadium is very expensive and won't change much.

Step 3: Building a new stadium saves money and creates a modern field.

Step 4: A new stadium is better for KC

KCI

Step 1: KCI today is crumbling and requires a complete gut renovation

Step 2: KCI renovation will cost 30% more, take many more years, fixes no operational or experiences issues

Step 3: A new KCI will be cheaper, faster, and have new amenities. A new KCI is expandable and better for airlines

Step 4: A new KCI will grow our economy, bringing new business and events, creating jobs.

[TheUrbanRoo]

What’s frustrating me is that this is actually a really good deal the ownership is offering financial-wise, and nobody’s getting it. Most owners aren’t willing to fork over anywhere near a billion and then only ask you to extend a tax that’s literally already in place.

[WoodDraw]

What’s frustrating me is that this is actually a really good deal the ownership is offering financial-wise, and nobody’s getting it. Most owners aren’t willing to fork over anywhere near a billion and then only ask you to extend a tax that’s literally already in place.

Dude, I don't known if you're an easy mark or what. They're not putting a billion dollars into this.

[normalthings]

What’s frustrating me is that this is actually a really good deal the ownership is offering financial-wise, and nobody’s getting it. Most owners aren’t willing to fork over anywhere near a billion and then only ask you to extend a tax that’s literally already in place.

Dude, I don't known if you're an easy mark or what. They're not putting a billion dollars into this.

Depends on what they really mean but you could get to $ 1 billion pretty quickly - especially on the district side of things.

[WoodDraw]

What’s frustrating me is that this is actually a really good deal the ownership is offering financial-wise, and nobody’s getting it. Most owners aren’t willing to fork over anywhere near a billion and then only ask you to extend a tax that’s literally already in place.

Dude, I don't known if you're an easy mark or what. They're not putting a billion dollars into this.

Depends on what they really mean but you could get to $ 1 billion pretty quickly - especially on the district side of things.

In equity or debt?

I don't think they'll do either. But happy to let everyone put cards on the table.

[TheUrbanRoo]

What’s frustrating me is that this is actually a really good deal the ownership is offering financial-wise, and nobody’s getting it. Most owners aren’t willing to fork over anywhere near a billion and then only ask you to extend a tax that’s literally already in place.

Dude, I don't known if you're an easy mark or what. They're not putting a billion dollars into this.

You're talkin like Eli Apple & the Cincy players. You better hope you're right lol...

[beautyfromashes]

Dude, I don't known if you're an easy mark or what. They're not putting a billion dollars into this.

https://www.mlb.com/royals/news/royals- ... ty-meeting

“Chairman and CEO John Sherman said the ownership group would be investing more than $1 billion in the project, including the entire surrounding district.”

He’s lying?

[WoodDraw]

Yes, I think he's lying. Or using an incredibly aggressive definition of the word invest.

[DaveKCMO]

Isn’t this a really big ownership group? Like dozens of big names? It’s certainly possible to hit a billion, especially if some of it is debt financed by others.

But yeah, put yer cards on the table.

[KCPowercat]

While they do have a complete plan in their back pocket, they are out there listening to people right now so they know the concerns to address. This isn't the phase to show the plan and convince.

Seems like a great measured approach. Listen to the concerns and figure out how your plan addressed them. Present your solution.

[WoodDraw]

Isn’t this a really big ownership group? Like dozens of big names? It’s certainly possible to hit a billion, especially if some of it is debt financed by others.

But yeah, put yer cards on the table.

I can't imagine they're going to do a capital call on all the owners. Some might not even be liquid enough to pay it.

I'm sure some of the owners invested strategically (be in the room where it happens), but hard to know what is planned now.

We can look at Sprint center and power and light though, the last attempt to make an urban neighborhood from parking lots. The city pays for Sprint center through hotel and rental car taxes, the district bonds are backed (and paid) by the general fund, and the towers are subsidized by the city (we build the garages). I'm too old to remember what hrblock got, but I'm sure we subsidized that as well.

And cordish, with their completely subsidized neighborhood, builds one tower and let's it fill up before they do the next.

So I'm just super curious why everyone is confident in this.

[Cratedigger]

Isn’t this a really big ownership group? Like dozens of big names? It’s certainly possible to hit a billion, especially if some of it is debt financed by others.

But yeah, put yer cards on the table.

Just because I think it's interesting here's the list from the business journal. It's kind of a who's who of local business leaders.

- John Sherman, co-founder of Inergy LP, is now chairman and CEO of the Royals.
- Brooks Sherman, no relation to John Sherman, is a former president of Inergy.
- Paul Edgerley is a former managing partner of Bain Capital in Boston. He teamed up with college buddy Terry Matlack to found a new private equity company called VantEdge Partners LP in 2016.
- Terry Matlack is a co-founder of Tortoise Capital Advisors, an oil and gas investment company based in Leawood. Matlack and Edgerley are co-founders and managing directors of VantEdge Partners.
- Bill Gautreaux is a former president of Inergy. He stayed with the company after it was sold, working as chief marketing officer and president for Crestwood Equity Partners LP's marketing, supply and logistics group in Kansas City.
- Carl Hughes is a former senior vice president of business development at Inergy.
- The Dunn family founded and owns a majority of JE Dunn Construction Co., which is the fifth-largest private company in the Kansas City area, with $3.58 billion in annual revenue in 2018. The company also is listed as an owner of the team.
- The Lockton family founded and owns Lockton Cos. Inc., the largest independent, privately-owned insurance brokerage in the world. The Kansas City-based company generated $1.72 billion in revenue in 2018, making it the area's second-largest family-owned business, behind only Hallmark.
- Michael Haverty is a former CEO of Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU). The company generated $2.7 billion in revenue in 2018 and has 7,300 employees.
- Peter and Veronica Mallouk are the owners of Creative Planning Inc., an Overland Park-based financial planning company that manages about $45 billion in assets for clients.
- Rob Kaplan is a former Wall Street banker and chairman of the Dallas Federal Reserve. He is now co-chair of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, which is focused on social entrepreneurship and venture philanthropy.
- Alan Atterbury is the former CEO of Midland Loan Services Inc., a giant commercial mortgage loan firm acquired by PNC Bank Corp. for $391 million in 1998.
- J.B. Hebenstreit is a former president of Bartlett & Co., which was the area's 12th-largest private company, generating about $2 billion in annual revenue, before it was acquired by Savage Cos. in 2018.
- Don Wagner is a longtime private-equity investor and former CEO of Kansas City-based CST Industries Inc. (which was originally known as Columbian Steel Tank).
- Mariner Kemper is chairman and CEO of UMB Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: UMBF), the parent company of the second-largest bank based in the Kansas City area.
- Kent McCarthy is founder of Jayhawk Capital Management LLC, an investment management firm based in Shawnee with about $61.7 million in assets.
- Eric Stonestreet is a famous actor, who is best known for playing Cameron Tucker on "Modern Family." He is originally from Kansas City, Kan., and graduated from Kansas State University.
- Jay Pack is president of Pack Family Partnership.
- Dan Dees is co-head of investment banking at Goldman Sachs.
- Mark Demetree is chairman of MCD Investments LLC

Plus Mahomes and a few LLCs (PJM Baseball LLC, Seventh Inning Stretch LP and PlayBallKC LLC) that I don't think are a significant portion of the ownership group.

There's no way Sherman is doing a capital call on the ownership group. But does organizing financing for the district really seem out of question for this group?

[WoodDraw]

PJM Baseball LLC = Inergy McLaughlins

Seventh Inning Stretch LP = Glenn Goldstein

I can't remember off hand playball.