Kansas City leaders, don’t surprise public in Royals stadium

Kansas City wants to spend $600 million on a new baseball stadium and entertainment district in Washington Square Park, just east of Union Station. Our first question: Did city leaders learn nothing two short years ago?

That was when Jackson County voters resoundingly rejected a proposed 40-year sales tax to build a new East Crossroads stadium for the Royals, along with major renovations to the Chiefs’ home at Arrowhead. “I think this whole process has been a complete disaster just from the beginning,” Kansas Citian Leo Contreras told Star reporters as news of the vote’s failure broke that April 2024 election night. “The Royals organization, I don’t feel, provided the information that was needed for this vote,” he said.

Washington Square Park might be a perfectly fine place for a new baseball stadium. But taxpayers need to know the details first.

This time, the plan doesn’t rely on passing a new tax. Instead, it is to be financed by issuing municipal bonds, tax increment financing or TIFs, and other mechanisms. But as Star reporters Sam McDowell and Kacen Bayless point out: “The city plans to reimburse itself using proceeds from the bonds, but the ordinance does not include specifics about how that would play out.”

That is a problem. These are still public monies we’re talking about. And without a robust plan to engage taxpayers before moving forward, anyone with a vested interest in a transparent process should balk at what looks like yet another rushed plan, rolled out as a surprise.

Fear of losing Royals, like Chiefs

The proposal was read for the first time at a City Council meeting Thursday. Several council members signed on as co-sponsors, including the 3rd District’s Melissa Robinson. The Star Editorial Board asked Robinson why she supported a measure that would eschew a public vote. She said the thought of the team leaving town outweighed any concerns she might have had.

“We can’t afford to lose the Royals,” Robinson said. We don’t disagree.

We understand how she, Mayor Quinton Lucas and other City Hall leaders would be afraid of losing the Royals so soon after the Chiefs announced plans to relocate to Kansas just months ago. No one wants that to happen again.

But should the public be on the hook for more than a half-billion dollars for a downtown baseball stadium and entertainment district without a say in the matter?

Certain aspects of the new proposal sound promising: A baseball stadium at the site of Washington Square Park and an entertainment district surrounding it would bring a different vibe and additional economic benefits to the area between Crown Center and Union Station, which is one of the more moribund districts of the city center

‘Some level of discussions’

The ordinance would authorize City Manager Mario Vasquez to negotiate a 30-year term sheet, lease and development agreement with the Royals. In an exclusive interview, Lucas told Star reporters the goal would be to open the new stadium by Opening Day 2030, a year before the team’s Kauffman Stadium lease expires.

Under the proposed ordinance, the Royals would be barred from soliciting proposals from other states, counties or municipalities, and would limit talks to only the Washington Square Park site.

It would also require a vote from commissioners on the city parks board, which would continue to own the land. How those operations would work “continues to be some level of discussions,” Lucas told The Star.

Those discussions — and everything else about the plan — need to extend much further. Jonathan Duncan, who represents the 6th District on the City Council, expressed his disappointment with some of his colleagues’ opacity Thursday afternoon.

City leaders “very much remember what the people said with the last stadium vote — and that’s why this ordinance wasn’t put on a docket,” he told the editorial board. “It’s going to be done in such a fashion that the people won’t have a say. The mayor is willing to utilize this amount of public money for public investment without any input from the people.”

Duncan noted that Kansas Citians aren’t averse to spending money — so long as they know and approve of all the details. “Not only did voters vote down a stadium tax — they were very clear on what they would pass taxes for,” he said. “The earnings tax just passed with 65% support in Platte County, which is where our most conservative residents live, who don’t usually support new taxes. The KCATA tax vote was similar.

“I think to say that we’re going to do this behind closed doors, that is a disservice to voters. And I think it’s a shame that the mayor and my colleagues who support this measure don’t respect the will of the voters, and don’t respect their opinions.”

Echoes of secret KCI terminal plan

And that is our biggest caution. When this editorial board learned in May 2017 about secret discussions to award a no-bid contract for a badly-needed new single terminal at Kansas City International Airport, our main concern wasn’t that the plans were bad. It was that the public had been left in the dark. We are thankful that project fell apart, and a proper bidding process led to the beautiful new airport we enjoy today.

Mayor Lucas, City Council members and Royals stakeholders: We are emphatically not saying Kansas City doesn’t want a baseball stadium at Washington Square Park. This deal might very well be the best way yet imagined to bring the team and its fans into the city for a summertime ballgame.

We strongly caution that if the people of Kansas City think another multimillion-dollar idea is being rammed down their throats without sufficient buy-in, this sports-loving town’s goodwill could run out quickly. No more stadium whiplash. It’s time to hit the brakes, explain the plans — and listen.