Stadium Paranoia

If there’s one thing I know about sports, it’s that there is one issue that every fan dreads more than an any other – even more than a season so bad that entire blooper DVDs can be devoted to their play in the field – it’s the all-powerful stadium issue. No professional franchise is immune. This single issue can drive a wedge between fans and ownership faster than Lindsey Lohan can change boyfriends. The words “new stadium” or “upgraded facilities” or “additional luxury accommodations” can make the heart of any fan freeze in their chest when spoken by a local owner. And for good reason! In this 21st Century world of nomadic Fortune 500 sports owners, we all know that loyalty and community are only words spoken at end of the year banquets and in United Way commercials. When it come to stadiums, most owners seem to be looking for the biggest potential revenue stream, the lowest potential hit to their wallet and the greatest number of tax breaks and luxury boxes. And, with the possible exception of the publicly owned Green Bay Packers, no team is immune. That’s right, no team.

The issue of stadium generated revenue seems to play the loudest in small market Major League Baseball towns. But, you probably already figured that out since I am taking the time to write about it in this space and since Royals’ baseball (new slogan, “It’s mediocre!”) is here again and since nothing seems to get me riled up like Kansas City ownership asking for more tax-payer paid perks while fielding a team that would have trouble winning the California Penal League, never mind the A.L. Central. And, yet for the last six weeks, Kansas City sports pages and radio talk shows have been debating the merits of a nine-figure stadium renovation project that would benefit both Kaufman and Arrowhead Stadiums, as well as a pie-in-the-sky rolling roof proposal that might land a Super Bowl for the city.

First, a brief and somewhat accurate history for all of you who have never been to a game at either Kaufman or Arrowhead. The two stadiums are located side-by-side in the middle of a wide expanse of land now known as the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex. The Sports Complex is an asphalt prairie nestled in the armpit of Interstates 435 and 70. The best thing the complex has going for it is space, the vast majority of which is filled with parking areas. One thing is for sure, unless, by some fluke, both the Chiefs and the Royals were playing on the same day, you are almost guaranteed a parking space that is within a half-mile of your seat.

The address of the Sports Complex is in Kansas City, Missouri. However, when at the Sports Complex, you could be in Sioux City and it wouldn’t make any difference. There’s nothing else around except a loan Taco Bell about a mile’s walk away. Kansas City, Missouri is in Jackson County and the Truman Sports Complex was built by and is owned by the government of Jackson County. The stadiums opened in the early 70s, Arrowhead in 72, Kaufman – then Royals Stadium – in 1973. So, the Complex is my age, which will soon become relevant. Jackson County leases the stadiums to the two sports franchises and the leases guarantee the teams will stay in Kansas City as long as Jackson County holds up their end of the lease – one stipulation of which is that the County will keep the stadiums modern and up-to-date – an ambiguous idea with no real detail behind it, at best. This, too, will soon become relevant.

Now, I have several friends and co-workers that live in Jackson County, and, despite the incredibly poor treatment of my Mormon ancestors in the 1840s, I don’t really have anything against Jackson County. I like to go there for their cheap gas. I drive through it to get to St. Louis. There are several historically significant religious sites that are enjoyable to visit – with more to come in the future. However, I do have serious reservations about the Jackson County Sports Authority – the government arm that operates the Sports Complex. You see, the one essential role of the Sports Authority is to make sure the county is compliant with the leases so that the teams cannot bail out if the county fails to do its part. Over the last 30 years, hundreds of millions of dollars have been given to the Sports Authority to make sure that this doesn’t happen.

So, what happened? With nine years remaining on their current leases, the unthinkable has happened. The stadiums have gotten old. They are having plumbing issues, the beating they take after any event is clearly visible, and they are far from state of the art. In a word, they are me. You see, I, too, am getting old. My plumbing is not what it once was. An evening of basketball means several days of muscle aches. I enjoy 80s hair bands far to much to ever again be considered state of the art. The biggest difference between me and the Truman Sports Complex? I haven’t had millions of dollars worth of tax payer money handed out for my upkeep and improvement. I guarantee you, if I had, I’d be as modern and up to date as (fill in the name of some really cool band. Maybe try Google for hints.)

So, even though Jackson County told all of us that they would make sure the stadiums were in good shape when they put their signature on the lease, they haven’t kept up their end of the bargain. They don’t have enough money left from the last lease agreement and tax increase to make the needed updates. So, the Royals and Chiefs could conceivably void the remainder of the leases and start shopping for a new home. Now, let me be clear, neither team has made any overt threat to leave. Their new home shopping could be in Las Vegas, Portland or Los Angeles, but it could just as easily, and perhaps even more likely, be right here in the Kansas City area. Maybe not Jackson County, but the city has developed on the Kansas side to the west and to the south and there are several areas locally that would like to make a run for one if not both of the teams. Not to mention, the fact that Kansas City, Missouri and Jackson County could keep one or both teams by building stadiums downtown – a proposal that could revitalize downtown businesses and capitalize on the Missouri river that cuts through Kansas City and is such a distinctive part of the character of the city itself.

But, Jackson County didn’t want to do that. They didn’t want to lose “their teams” – a rather boorish and short-sighted idea that the teams are more theirs than ours – those of us that grew up on the Chiefs and the Royals and have supported them our entire lives, but happen to live in Johnson County or Cass County or Wyandotte County. So, a new proposal was presented a few months ago that would renovate the stadiums, extend the teams’ commitment to the Sports Complex another 25 years and only cost $425 million of tax-payer money to do so. With an additional $25 million from the Glass family – who own the Royals – and $75 million from Chiefs’ owner Lamar Hunt, the proposal would repair the wiring and plumbing in the stadiums, add restrooms, widen concourses, add a Hall of Fame for each team, build a house for the Royals’ mascot – Slugger – and add restaurants in a “Taste of Kansas City” type open area. A second proposal was placed on the ballot to put a rolling roof over the two stadiums that could cover Kaufman, roll to a pavilion area between the stadiums, or roll a little farther and cover Arrowhead. The roof price-tag was $200 million. And it came with a guarantee from the NFL that if passed and built, would bring the 2013 Super Bowl to Kansas City.

So, last Tuesday, Jackson County voters went to the polls and ignored the last 30 years of mismanagement by the Jackson County Sports Authority. Question one passed and the taxes will be collected, the renovations made, Slugger will be given a new home. The space-age rolling roof did not pass, but the Sports Authority immediately went on delay mode and will attempt to get it back on the ballot in December. And, after much debate, the Chiefs and Royals will remain at the Sports Complex until 2031 or until Jackson County defaults on the new lease. And, despite my obvious skepticism, I will continue to support them. I will pay the use tax when I buy tickets and pay for parking. I will go to games, walk through the Hall of Fame, even take my kids to Slugger’s new digs.

However, and maybe you could tell, I’m not all that happy with the outcome. You see, all the voters of Jackson County have done is delayed the inevitable. In 25 years, the teams are not going to be willing to stay at the Sports Complex. In 2031, the stadiums and I will be nearly 60 years old. Now, I will most likely be struggling with bad joints and gray hair and wrinkles. Sports teams, like the athletes that play for them, are perpetually in their mid-20s to 30s. They always want the best and the most luxurious. So, they’ll look at their aging partnership with Arrowhead and Kaufman stadiums, they’ll see the wrinkles and the sagging and the age beneath the makeup and they’ll be ready to move on. They’re not going to stay with something 60 years old. Let’s just hope my wife doesn’t feel the same way!

You see, in the long run, if we really want to keep the Royals and the Chiefs in Kansas City, we’re going to have to build new stadiums. The Truman Sports Complex was innovative and unique when it was built. But professional sports found a new business model and it isn’t a sea of concrete with parking spaces and a stadium or two sitting in the middle. That might work for the Chiefs, where tailgaiting before and after a game will keep fans coming. And, maybe Arrowhead will stay where it is if they bulldoze Kaufman and build a new Arrowhead there. But, maybe the Chiefs look for greener pastures in Kansas City, Kansas out by the Kansas Motor Speedway. Would that really be such a bad thing? I’ve spent all my life driving 30 to 45 miles to go to the Sports Complex. Will Jackson County residents no longer support the Chiefs if they move across the river? I can’t believe that would happen.

As for the Royals, the answer will someday be a downtown stadium. Major League Baseball teams play 81 home games a year. Baseball is played at a more leisurely pace than any other professional sport besides golf. Fans want something else to do on their way to and from the ballpark. They need restaurants and clubs, night spots and music. They need something more than a “Taste of Kansas City” and a Taco Bell across the parking lot. It’s time for all of us, no matter what county we’re from, to come to grips with the fact that if the Royals are going to stay in Kansas City, it will eventually need to be in a brand new stadium down by the river. No promises of All-Star Games and Super Bowls under a rolling roof will ever change that. For now, Jackson County has closed its eyes to its past of poor management and fiscal irresponsibility. Now it’s avoiding the gaze of the future like a seventh grade boy sitting firmly against the wall at a junior high dance. You had the chance to get up, cross the room and sweep the girl off her feet, Jackson Countians. You’d just better hope she’s still interested in you in 25 years!

The Race for 63! In their quest to avoid being the second team in history to lose 100 or more games in three consecutive seasons, the Royals got off to a rocky start by blowing two games against the Tigers while the aforementioned stadium vote was underway. But, the team got some respect back over the weekend by taking two of three from the World Champion White Sox. Current record: 2-3.