The Kansas City Royals have presented two options for the next location of their stadium. One in North Kansas City, MO and the other in the East Village of Downtown Kanas City, MO. The project is expected to cost more than $2 billion. Royals ownership have said that they plan to contribute more than $1 billion in private money towards the cost of the stadium.
The Royals claim that the project would create roughly 20,000 jobs and produce $185 million in new regional economic output, emphasis on regional.
If the East Village location is chosen, the Royals will have to work with Jackson County and the Chiefs to get the Jackson County sales tax renewed by the public. They receive hundreds of millions from that tax.
If the North Kansas City location is chosen, a new sales tax of some sort would have to be approved by Clay County residents, who according to polling are very hesitant about this project.
The team will make an official decision as to which location they want and announce that location in September. The next month will be full of the team trying to negotiate with local politicians as they determine which pathway is most viable. Jackson County, presumably the most natural home for the team, has been a source of significant hesitation. There is no clear favorite location at this point.
An issue of great concern for many members of the labor community is the details of a community benefits agreement and guarantees from the team that the new stadium will be union built. Organizations that advocate for low wage workers are being led by Stand Up KC to ask for a community benefits agreement that insures that not only is the stadium union built, but also that it and the entertainment district around it is union operated, in addition to other community benefits.
“The Royals have shown us pretty designs. But the people you see walking around in those images aren’t real. We are. And right now, workers like me are struggling to pay our bills, care for our families, and keep a roof over our heads. Soon, we could be the ones footing the bill for a new stadium too. We deserve to have a seat at the table to negotiate a Community Benefits Agreement that ensures poor and working people will have concrete benefits from a generational project like this. Without that, we are being left behind in our own community,” said fast food worker and Stand Up KC leader Terrence Wise.
“Today the Royals released a lot of pretty pictures and made a lot of economic promises, but let’s be clear: They are asking for a lot from Jackson County taxpayers and are proposing hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars that turns into their private profit. We can’t put the cart before the horse. We have to talk now about the impacts this project could have in terms of economic and racial justice. And the Royals have yet to negotiate a strong Community Benefits Agreement,” said Jackson County’s 1st District legislator Manuel “Manny” Abarca IV.
He continued, “One thing is clear: If this stadium project goes forward in our county, poor and working people need a seat at the negotiating table to ensure it delivers good-paying, union jobs and truly affordable housing. I support the efforts of Stand Up KC and the Good Jobs and Affordable Housing For All coalition, and I’ll continue to work with these partners to ensure poor and working people don’t get left behind here in Jackson County, on this project, or any other one.”
Clay County Western Commissioner and former Kanas City, MO City Councilman Scott Wagner said of the renderings: “This project has the opportunity to provide a positive change in our community that will last for generations. Likewise, we hope this can be a life-changing opportunity for those who will work in this development, and their families, for generations. No matter where the Royals decide to go, it’s my hope the Royals, Stand Up KC, and our counties and cities can build a project that makes us all proud, and a Community Benefits Agreement will be central to making that happen.”
“I’ve worked at Kauffman stadium for 16 years and we work hard to make every game day a success. Lately, we’ve heard a lot of talk in the media that they want to tear the K down, and I think we workers deserve a say-so in these discussions. I don’t think they’ve even thought to give us a say, and we deserve to be in the know, along with members of the community,” said SEIU Local 1 member Marilyn Logerwell.
