Q&A with King Carl regarding DJ and a new Stadium

[BigRedChief]

The link:
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2005/07...carl_peterson/

The good stuff:
Q&A with CARL PETERSON
Jul 29, 2005, 8:04:58 PMTRAINING CAMP
Q: Can you characterize the negotiations with first-round draft choice LB Derrick Johnson?


PETERSON: “We’re having continued conversations with his representative, but nothing has been consummated. We expect to see Craphonso Thorpe and Khari Long tonight and so we just have one (draft choice) to go.”

Q: Is it reasonable to expect that Johnson will be here in the next few days?
PETERSON: “I wouldn’t speculate on any time limit on our first-round draft choice. We’re still having conversations. I had a conversation with Vann McElroy (Johnson’s representative) today. Denny (Thum) has spoken with Vann’s assistant a couple times. We understand the 13th and 14th (overall) picks have come to agreements, so when Vann and his associate see those numbers and where we are, hopefully we’ll be closer to an agreement.”

Q: Did QB Alex Smith’s deal set the bar at a certain height?
PETERSON: “I think that contract was 80 pages long. I don’t ever want to draft the first overall pick in the draft, but that’s not our problem.”

Q: The State of Wisconsin just spent $2.4 million on a new training facility. Did they set a standard for what other people might have to do, specifically in Missouri?
PETERSON: “If you haven’t seen them, we’d like to give you a tour of the new athletic facilities that the State of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin – River Falls have built for us, specifically for the Kansas City Chiefs. They contacted us over a year ago and said they wanted to do this. They came down to Kansas City and looked at the pro style lockers and came back up here. They were able to acquire a $1.8 million appropriation from the State of Wisconsin and another $600,000 from the student body from their fees to come up with a total $2.4 million figure for the improvement of the facilities.
“The new pro locker rooms, the training rooms, the equipment rooms are outstanding. They’re as good as I’ve seen in any NCAA Division I school, maybe even some pro locker rooms. The point is this. We come up here somewhere between 23-25 days a year and they feel it’s that important to them that they can come up with this amount of money, I’ll be candid that it’s a little bit disappointing. We went through this this past spring in Jefferson City (Missouri) that representatives there and even representatives of constituents in Jackson County could not agree on a tax that would tax no one in the state of Missouri, but only professional athletes and entertainers outside of the State of Missouri. We thought it was a very simple solution to solving a very major problem, which is becoming a large one for us at the Truman Sports Complex, specific to Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium are going to be 33 years old this year. But our legislature in Missouri made that decision. I wouldn’t say all of them because it did pass the Senate, but it didn’t happen in the House. Yet, we come up here for 23 days and they’ve got $2.4 million of new facilities for us. I think there’s a message there. I hope the people in Missouri are listening, specifically the representatives.”

Q: Have you had an opportunity to speak with any of those legislatures who decided to vote that bill down?
PETERSON: “Yes, I have. They told myself and Clark Hunt in January and in March that they would support it and in May they did not. I don’t like people who say one thing and then change their mind. I’d rather be told directly. But they have to live with what they did and hopefully their constituents will know that the next time they come around to vote. We have a problem and we know that in Jackson County. Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium, their magnificent facilities, but they’re 33 years old. We live there. We’re there in the inner confines of the stadium and we see the electrical, the plumbing, the concrete – it’s all 33 years old. You can’t wait until it crumbles to say ‘now we have a problem.’ There’s a short timetable to get this fixed and hopefully we will. Perhaps something like the University of Wisconsin – River Falls and the State of Wisconsin has done for us will send a message to those people in Jefferson City. ”

Q: What’s the end game as far as the Chiefs and Kansas City are concerned?
PETERSON: “It’s out of our hands. We worked hard to support a bill that we thought would facilitate to a degree at least a minimal degree of the maintenance to the stadiums, but we couldn’t get it done. We spent two years in an effort to do that. Now unfortunately, it all falls on Jackson County, the City of Kansas City and still the State of Missouri. We’ll see what happens. We want to stay, the Hunt family has made that very explicit and we hope that there are solutions that will allow us to maintain and upgrade the stadium to a state-of-the-art status that our fans can be proud of and that will facilitate their needs and will allow us to remain there for some years to come.”

[Fire Me Boy!]

Welcome to the planet...

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=120457

[BigRedChief]

sorry dudes and dudettes

[teedubya]

hey big red chief... I read your post, man.

[htismaqe]

Training camp won't be leaving UWRF for quite some time.

When you want something, you gotta go get it, and that's exactly what they did.

Kicking in state fundage...WOW.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Training camp won't be leaving UWRF for quite some time.

When you want something, you gotta go get it, and that's exactly what they did.

Kicking in state fundage...WOW.

Remember when the athletes tax would fund the upkeep of the stadiums came to a vote? No tax increase and they still voted against it, even the KC metro area ones! Then you hear of the cheese state doing this?

I can't believe our politicians are so dense..........okay well maybe I do.

[BigRedChief]

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/0730...missouri.shtml


Will Missouri follow suit with cash for facilities?
By Rick Dean
The Capital-Journal

RIVER FALLS, Wis. -- The Chiefs are delighted with the NFL-caliber locker room and training room facilities that the University of Wisconsin-River Falls constructed in the past year.

Now team president Carl Peterson wonders what he has to do to get the same consideration from the Chiefs home state of Missouri.

Noting that the state of Wisconsin and the students of UWRF generated some $2.4 million for a 12,300 square foot addition to the Knowles Arena that serves as the Chiefs summer locker room, Peterson on Friday challenged reluctant Missouri legislators to give the Chiefs and Royals the same kind of financial consideration.

"The new locker room is outstanding, certainly as good as I've seen on even the Division I level and maybe some professional locker rooms," Peterson said of the improvements made at the Division III school.

The state of Wisconsin approved $1.8 million and UWRF students generated another $600,000 for improvements that will benefit students long after the Chiefs leave. Wisconsin's willingness to make such improvements for a summer visitor like the Chiefs should send a message to the state of Missouri, Peterson said.

"We come here for 23 to 25 days a year, yet they feel it's important enough that they came up with that amount of money," Peterson said. "There's a message there, and I hope the people of Missouri are listening."

The Chiefs joined Missouri's other pro teams this year in lobbying unsuccessfully for stadium-improvement funds generated by the state's Athletes and Entertainers Tax. The General Assembly, however, refused to consider a bill that would divert such tax revenue into stadium financing.

Both the Chiefs and Royals are seeking tax revenue for major renovations on both Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums.

"We have problems there and everyone knows it," Peterson said. "These are magnificent facilities, but the mechanical and electrical works and the concrete are 33 years old. We can't wait until it starts crumbling to do something.

"We supported a bill that would have addressed the minimal upkeep needs of the stadiums, but now the pressure is on Jackson County (Mo.), Kansas City and the state of Missouri. We hope there are solutions to upgrade our stadiums to state-of-the-art facilities that allow us to stay there for years to come."

Thorpe, Long sign

The Chiefs' list of rookie holdouts is down to one -- first-round pick Derrick Johnson -- after the club came to terms Friday with fourth-round pick Craphonso Thorpe, a receiver from Florida State, and sixth-round pick Khari Long, a defensive end. Both are expected to be at Kansas City's Saturday morning workout after signing three-year contracts.

Peterson said contract talks with Johnson are on-going and remain amiable. The 15th player taken in the draft, Johnson's financial package should begin to shape up now that contracts for the two players drafted ahead of him have been finalized, Peterson said.

Injured players back

Working out for the first time Friday morning were linebacker Scott Fujita and wide receivers Marc Boerigter and Chris Horn, who all received medical clearance after recovering from 2004 injuries. Fujita and Boerigter practiced in the morning in shells and short and did not participate in the fully padded afternoon workout.

Veterans Willie Roaf and Tony Gonzalez participated only in the afternoon practice, while Pro Bowl guard Will Shields missed both as a precautionary measure.

[BigChiefFan]

The Chiefs are putting the pressure on-why do you think they made so many damn moves in the off-season? To show a commitment to the fans, so we will in turn give them their precious tax money(and ticket money, parking, ect..) for a new or revamped stadium. The heat is on for both sides, but it's time for the Chiefs to quit ****ing around and go to the Super Bowl. I'm getting tired of Carl's tireless woe is me act. Get over it, Carl-the burden is still on you, teflon punk. Put up or shut-up.