Sure, Mayor Kay Barnes hit a homerun with the Sprint Arena deal, but now she is backing an inferior plan. Mayor Barnes' endorsement of the save our stadiums campaign raises some interesting points.

• If she has such great confidence in the people that are running Jackson County and the Sports Authority, why did she choose not use them to manage the Sprint Center? The Sprint Center is for sporting events and will be located in Jackson County. Would it not make sense that she would have used the authority structure already in place?
• In a release issued from the Mayor's office, she set her own standard for future arena / stadium issues. She is quoted as “This is a great deal for Kansas City and ensures that with voter approval of the tourist fees on August 3, the public will get a first-class arena along with the financial protections that it deserves,” Mayor Barnes said. “This agreement with AEG will set the standard nationally for public/private partnerships when other communities consider building arenas and stadiums in the future.” Below is what the agreement with AEG looks like:
  • The arena plan is managed by a AEG, corporate entity. AEG is also responsible for operations and the inherited risks.
  • The same corporate entity, AEG, contributed 20% of the total cost.
  • Naming rights were bought by Sprint and create more than $50 Million over twenty years.
  • The taxes used are more transparent to Kansas City citizens. The tax used for this plan is special taxes on rental car and hotel usages.

  Mayor Barnes is right. The plan she used for the Sprint Arena is a great standard for public / private partnerships. The problem is the save our stadiums plan looks nothing like her self-defined standard. Let's take a look at the differences.

  • The stadiums will continue to be managed by the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority. These people have shown they are incapable of this.
  • Where AEG contributed 20% as one corporate entity. Our professional sports teams, two corporate entities, are contributing a combined 17%.
  • Naming rights, an incredible revenue generator, for the stadiums was not even included.
  • The save our stadiums tax is a sales tax, one of the most burdensome of all taxes. The burden of this tax falls on people that do not deserve it, not to mention their kids too.

I am unsure as to why Mayor Barnes supports this plan. This is almost the exact opposite of what she calls the standard for arena and stadium issues. She is quoted above as saying the arena plan is a great deal for Kansas City. Can she really say the same thing about the save our stadiums deal? If she can really support this, then her definition of a good plan has certainly changed since the arena passed. I do not think she is too concerned with giving the taxpayers of Jackson County "the financial protections that it deserves". Apparently, these financial protections are only good for the people that live in Kansas City, not Raytown, Lees Summit, or those in Independence. Thanks again for the protection.