After a successful ballot initiative drive, Kansas City voters will be asked to approve a measure putting new sports facilities and entertainment venues to a vote, but it may not cover a new downtown Royals ballpark.
The measure, if approved by voters in the April 6, 2027, referendum, would ask voters to automatically authorize via public vote any spending on the design or construction of any arena, venue or sporting facility seating 2,500 or more. Technically, this would be the start of a multipart process: if approved by voters, it could then be applied to future projects, but even if approved in April, it would not apply to public funding for a new downtown Royals ballpark until the public votes on the proposal.
It was added to the April ballot after a successful initiative from Missouri Workers Power, which solicited more than 4,500 signatures.
The question here is whether this ballot initiative would affect the $600 million in public monies in the midst of being approved for the new downtown Royals ballpark in the Crown Center area. Missouri Workers Power has argued it could; other politicos say no, pointing out that it doesn’t allow for the repeal of already-approved projects—and the city is certainly racing to approve the project well before an April ballot vote.
“Projects already underway, such as Royals Stadium at Crown Center, the Kansas City Current stadium expansion, the Kansas City Symphony’s new South Plaza project, and the Starlight Theater canopy project are not affected by the proposal,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas wrote in a statement announcing the success of the petition.
The Missouri Workers Power initiative will be tested by the city, which is well underway with ballpark planning. Yesterday, the city’s Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee approved a tax increment financing (TIF) district (more on that later) to pay for Kansas City’s $600 million in public spending on the $1.9 billion ballpark. The full City Council could approve the TIF district as soon as later this week.
The specifics of the TIF district are based on findings from Chicago-based research firm Hunden Partners, which estimates the potential revenue that the city could use toward its $600 million commitment past the $460 million in tax revenue expected to be raised at the ballpark from Royals games, concerts, and potentially big events like an All-Star Game.
The TIF district, dubbed a “stadium impact area,” would see increased revenues from sales, hotel, entertainment and food/drink taxes would go toward the ballpark. Not a new idea, of course, but a proven one. From the Kansas City Star:
The impact area would be roughly bounded by State Line Road to the west, Brooklyn Avenue to the east, 31st Street to the south and Interstate-670 and Truman Road to the north.
The report says its assumptions are conservative and do not include new business growth, meaning any actual growth within the impact area would be a bonus….
In total, the new report projects over $1.4 billion in tax revenue would be available through 2059 to cover the city’s obligations for the stadium: starting at $22 million in year one and rising to $63.5 million by year 30.
Whether or not these assumptions are conservative will come out in the wash, of course.
The $1.9-million ballpark would anchor a more extensive $3-billion mixed-use development. In late April the Royals, the city and Crown Center officials announced preliminary plans for a new downtown ballpark at the existing 85-acre development located on the southern side of downtown Kansas City. It was developed by Hallmark Cards and will feature the company’s new headquarters (the current headquarters will move to accommodate the projected ballpark location), as well as theaters, hotels and attractions like Union Station, the Museum of BBQ, a Legoland outpost and the National WWI Museum and Memorial. The site also features plenty of freeway access and is connected by streetcar to the Power & Light District and T-Mobile Center. Interestingly, much of Crown Center dates back to the 1969-1973 period—as does Kauffman Stadium—and has landed the complex on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rendering courtesy Kansas City Royals.
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