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<\/p><\/div> Mayor Quinton Lucas and the City Council need buy-in from the public, or support could evaporate.<\/p>\n The Star<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n <\/p>\n Kansas City wants to spend $600 million on a new baseball stadium<\/a> and entertainment district in Washington Square Park, just east of Union Station. Our first question: Did city leaders learn nothing two short years ago?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That was when Jackson County voters resoundingly rejected a proposed 40-year sales tax<\/a> to build a new East Crossroads stadium for the Royals, along with major renovations to the Chiefs\u2019 home at Arrowhead. \u201cI think this whole process has been a complete disaster just from the beginning,\u201d Kansas Citian Leo Contreras told Star reporters<\/a> as news of the vote\u2019s failure broke that April 2024 election night. \u201cThe Royals organization, I don\u2019t feel, provided the information that was needed for this vote,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Washington Square Park might be a perfectly fine place for a new baseball stadium. But taxpayers need to know the details first.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This time, the plan doesn\u2019t 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: \u201cThe city plans to reimburse itself using proceeds from the bonds, but the ordinance does not include specifics about how that would play out.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That is a problem. These are still public monies we\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t afford to lose the Royals,\u201d Robinson said. We don\u2019t disagree.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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\u2019s Kauffman Stadium lease expires.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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 \u201ccontinues to be some level of discussions,\u201d Lucas told The Star.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Those discussions \u2014 and everything else about the plan \u2014 need to extend much further. Jonathan Duncan, who represents the 6th District on the City Council, expressed his disappointment with some of his colleagues\u2019 opacity Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n City leaders \u201cvery much remember what the people said with the last stadium vote \u2014 and that\u2019s why this ordinance wasn\u2019t put on a docket,\u201d he told the editorial board. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be done in such a fashion that the people won\u2019t have a say. The mayor is willing to utilize this amount of public money for public investment without any input from the people.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Duncan noted that Kansas Citians aren\u2019t averse to spending money \u2014 so long as they know and approve of all the details. \u201cNot only did voters vote down a stadium tax \u2014 they were very clear on what they would<\/i> pass taxes for,\u201d he said. \u201cThe earnings tax just passed with 65% support in Platte County, which is where our most conservative residents live, who don\u2019t usually support new taxes. The KCATA tax vote was similar.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think to say that we\u2019re going to do this behind closed doors, that is a disservice to voters. And I think it\u2019s a shame that the mayor and my colleagues who support this measure don\u2019t respect the will of the voters, and don\u2019t respect their opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nFear of losing Royals, like Chiefs<\/h2>\n
\u2018Some level of discussions\u2019<\/h2>\n
Echoes of secret KCI terminal plan<\/h2>\n