Quote:
Originally Posted by DanT
Part of the Speedway was built on STAR Bonds, not all of it:
"Funding the $283 million racing complex was $167 million in public funds comprised of STAR Bonds supported by annual sales taxes, utility company contributions and matching funds from the local road improvements
budget plus $116 million in private equity from ISC."
https://www.iedconline.org/clientupl..._09_Summer.pdf
The State of Kansas did a report on their STAR Bond projects and noted that their Department of Commerce has two tourism goals for their projects, that at least 30% of users come from over 100 miles away and that at least 20% come from outside Kansas.
https://www.kslegislature.org/li_202...0220118_01.pdf
In Figure 2 of the report, you can see that the Speedway has been a success in part because it meets these two goals. The other sports projects with STAR Bonds don't come close to bringing in at least 30% of users from over 100 miles away. I doubt that Arrowhead ever has 20,000 fans from that far away, but I could be wrong.
The Scoop and Score proposal is talking about fully funding a NFL stadium in a region that already has one and the proposal basically amounts to sentencing Kansans in the 2050s and beyond to be stuck with a stadium that has lost its luster and that never came close to bringng in enough revenue to justify its costs or the risks that investors took. Of course, I doubt that proposal will go forward without serious modification because it's so preposterous. The Chiefs weren't even asking for as much charity as the folks behind this proposal are offering. Kansans aren't that reckless, or at least not the part of Kansas represented by the majority will. |
The Royals are the team that wants a new venue.
That does not even make any sense to court the team that wants to stay in their current venue and has a dozen dates a year compared to the one that says it wants a new place and has at least 81 dates.
This nonsense is so dead letter, if they meant business they would court the Royals and try to find a spot near State Line or a part of downtown KCK.
And, Carol Marinovich was very important part of the development that did happen. KCK does not have the unity and leadership to get things done like they did when Marinovich was a key figure.