How many times is the Kansas City Star going to float this absurd, outrageously expensive, completely unnecessary idea that we need to somehow vacate our perfectly good, very usable ballpark for the Kansas City Royals and build a new one in the middle of our downtown?
For the love of God.
Let me quickly get to all the reasons is beyond not a good idea but a patently, thoroughly bad one.
--It would be outrageously expensive. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to do. Hundreds of millions.
--We already, obviously, have a very good, very state of the art, already-functioning ballpark, thanks very much.
--The parking for the new stadium, God forbid, downtown would be ridiculously difficult in and of itself.
--It would further complicate parking downtown.
--We just got finished, not that many years ago, paying for a renovation of the present ballpark to the tune of 250 million dollars. I don't even know if that is yet paid off. Paid or no, we just did this.
--Kansas City taxes are already high.
Kansas City sales tax tops in the nation
Even the Star rightly recognizes how high our taxes already are--
On the following list, we are the city with the 9th highest taxes of any other in the nation.
Kansas City serves up nation’s 12th-highest taxes on diners
Heck, taxes are high if you even just visit here. We even penalize visitors.
--As bad as parking already is downtown, again, a new, downtown ballpark would sit empty most of the year.
--Downtown already works. What, exactly, at this high a price, are we fixing here or trying to fix?
--We would WALK AWAY from a totally, completely functioning, attractive, successful baseball stadium now.
You would think every Right Winger, Republican and Libertarian, all, at least, would be screaming bloody murder about this. More taxes, in whatever form we call them? To build another baseball stadium? When we have a good one lots of us love already? That's easy to access? That's easy to park at? That's easy to exit from and get home? Seriously?
And then, get this. Dave Helling down at the Star pointed out this week in our local paper that the old bi-state tax still exists, at least on paper. It's still available. Not only could we pay for a new baseball stadium WE DON'T NEED, downtown, where it would be difficult to get to, difficult to park at, then difficult to leave, WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE A FANTASTIC MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STADIUM, but---get this--WE COULD GET JOHNSON COUNTIANS AND KANSANS TO HELP US PAY FOR IT!!
YES!!
By all means, LET'S BUILD A NEW, UNNECESSARY, VERY EXPENSIVE NEW BALLPARK DOWNTOWN THAT SOLVES NOT ONE PROBLEM WE HAVE NOW!!
SURE!!
LET'S!!
Or...
maybe not.
Please. For the love of God, common sense and all that is good.
It's difficult we have to even say this.
These people that want a new ballpark downtown---
Do you suppose they haven't driven down Wornall lately? Heck, Ward Parkway? 63rd Street.
Could we please, please be fiscally and yes, environmentally responsible and not further even explore this bonehead idea?
Please, Kansas City Star?
I mean, we know you need readers but get out and report on fascinating, accomplished, accomplishing area citizens.
Let this absurd idea die.
This is beautiful. It works. Leave it alone.
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22 comments:
The current ballpark is in my estimation a fixed up bad ballpark. We have spent considerable money on maintained and some improvements. It has no real character as far as ballparks go. The best place for a ballpark is downtown. It has it's most economic value in a downtown setting. To say we have no place for one downtown is close minded. It doesn't need to be in the heart of downtown, it can be on the edge and provide more incentive to redeveloped.
Thank you for saying this. I find it ridiculous as well.
I agree with you 100%. Who started this idea?
Whoever came up with this idea should be ashamed!
So from a point of not being mad at either choice. As a baseball fan this will give the oppurtunity to bring more money into our team to make us more competitive more often. Not to mention the money it would bring to buissness around down town. Parking is fine in other cities. Plus it would add more space for the Chiefs to get more money coming in by making something along the lines of what the Patritos have in Patriots Village
Totally agree with you. Enough is enough stop this idiotic plan.
It would also create a huge burden on those who commute every single day from surrounding communities to work downtown. A week day game would cause grid lock and for those who HAVE TO pick up kids from daycare or before/after care at specific times or face $5/per minute fines (yes daycares do this) well if you think road rage is ridiculous now just imagine how it will get with those parents.
I love our teams but moving them downtown will spell disaster and loss of revenue for them. We love to tailgate....can't happen downtown. The Royals have not won enough games to guarantee sell out crowds and most people will opt to stay at home and watch on tv or stream the game instead of dealing with traffic, shelling out money for parking and having to pay ridiculous prices for food and drink. (Let's not forget sobriety check points will be more prevalent too).
See all my points and reasons above. A downtown ballpark is financially, fiscally and even, of course, environmentally irresponsible to the point of crazy. And your contention that the current park has no atmosphere or personality is only yours. Plenty of us enjoy the stadium we have.
The idea of building a stadium inside downtown KC is very attractive to those who don't think about the negative side of things. Sure it would look good and be new and cool, but that's where it stops. It wouldn't create jobs, it wouldn't help traffic flow, it wouldn't bring in a bunch of visitors from other cities. All this would do is leave a functioning, beautiful current stadium to be an empty, grown over eyesore that everyone would see headed east on 70. The Royals may not even be staying in Kansas City with the new owner. You know what would be a great idea? Helping jobs be created by giving big businesses some tax breaks. Make the city attractive to billionaires so they can build another skyscraper here or headquarters and provide more high paying jobs to people. No one wants to build here if they're going to be taxed to death. The tallest building downtown was supposed to be dwarfed by a few other new, much taller buildings but of course, KC lost out on those deals. Don't fix what isn't broken.
Move the ballpark. Get out of here with that. Leave the ballpark where it is. For all of you that think moving it downtown would be good, you all are down right ridiculous. There is absolutely no parking as it is down town. Leave the stadium's where they are. We already pay taxes for the renovation they did a few years ago and you all want to pay more taxes. Some people I swear and let me guess you same people are the ones that think free health care is ridiculous too.
Anonymous most of the downtown type ballparks have subways and 10 times better transit systems than KC. WHere is everyone going to park? What about traffic on 70 and 35? You are 100% wrong about the character of the stadiums as well. I have people come in from towns that have newer stadiums and the love ours. You must be the developer or land owner with a motive. KC is NOT a big city we are very suburban. Sprint Center and Power and Light are down there they are fine there but leave Arrowhead and Kauffman alone please.
All your points? You made 3 and repeated them in different ways. Parking, already have a stadium, & taxes. The only good point you made is the tax burden. I would be on board if ownership invested in it. At least 50%. More would be better.
It's the downtown development commission that is currently pushing this. They want to be able to rape you on parking, no place to tailgate so you have to spend money in their bars and restaurants, all while making citizens pay to clean up the trashy parts of downtown. It's a win win for them at our expense.
The current stadiums and location is awesome.
KCI is also one of the easiest airports to fly in and out of, but they had to have a new one. Now we're going to have long security lines like everyone else, and you're stuck there hours early spending money at their overpriced bars and restaurants.
I've never been inside Arrowhead, but I've been to hundreds of Royals games over the years. There is no better, more beautiful ball park in baseball. They don't need a downtown ball Park. They need to fix up the area around the current stadiums. They're convenient to get to, and there's nothing wrong with either one.
I grew up in KC and have been to that ballpark many times. Driving past it on I-70 is a sight to see. It is the best ballpark I have ever seen. It may be old. It may have needed multiple renovations. It will need more, but there is no place like it. I now live in a city with downtown ballparks and arenas. The parking is terrible and always an issue no matter what. It has no more character or ambiance than Kaufman Stadium or Arrowhead Stadium. I am proud to be from KC and I am proud of the stadiums we have. You just can't experience football or baseball before, during, and after the game like you can in KC. Kansas City DON'T build a downtown stadium!
Amen: Not sure why you stated "Right Wing" as this should resonate with anyone who has been to "The K"
I'm with you on the stadium, definitely. But giving yet more tax breaks to the already-wealthy and corporations is what's getting us some of the highest debt in our nation's history.
I totally agree with you.
Why cant the money that would be spent on a new "boutique" stadium (only 30,000 seats) be spent on furthering the Rock Island Trail's western terminus (as currently planned) on in to downtown as light rail, like St. Louis has from their airport into their Union Station? And furthermore here, take that light rail on up to KCI?
I like the idea of spending the money on making an entertainment district around the current stadium complex. Why not figure out something to do with Leeds; perhaps something similar to the West Bottoms?
I ABHOR the idea of a stadium downtown. I can't use enough bad, negative words to decry how bad an idea this is.
Not to mention environmental responsibility! Who are we so wasteful!
As someone who works downtown, this is awful. It is already a mess when something goes on at Sprint. Please don't.
The goal is to host a super bowl it brings more money and value to a city it brings more tourists and a lot of attention. The stadium we have now does not allow us to host a Super Bowl
Why not take the money and build up the area the new stadium would go? The existing stadiums do have character on their own, but especially having them side by side. I live in the area of stadiums and I always feel a sense of pride whenever I drive by them. If you don't like the K, don't go to the games.
The far less expensive and wasteful sliding roof would accomplish that.
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