Developer, former Unified Government mayoral aide criticize Chiefs stadium proposal
Two Wyandotte County leaders, including a developer, have issues with the Chiefs' plans to build a new stadium in Kansas City, Kansas.
"They're not even following traditional development process. They're not engaging the local community," said Frank Ramirez, the former chief of staff for KCK Mayor Christal Watson.
Ramirez was in that role after Watson was sworn into office in December.
A week later, the Chiefs announced plans to build a new stadium, a practice facility, and team headquarters in Olathe.
Ramirez said he reviewed the numbers with Harvard interns and determined it's a bad deal for Wyandotte County taxpayers.
He said the plan doesn't account for necessary road improvements around the stadium, which he believes taxpayers will have to support with higher property taxes.
"Because of the excessive increased traffic, you have to count those dollars," Ramirez said.
Ramirez was in Lawrence Wednesday to review a mixed-use project with developer Erik Murray, who's also running for the U.S. Senate.
"We've talked to the neighborhood associations. We've talked to a lot of community members. We've heard from the city and even some state representatives about this site," Murray said about an unused former factory in east Lawrence.
He said that unlike Jackson County voters, who defeated a sales tax plan to upgrade Arrowhead Stadium, Wyandotte County residents and voters have had little say in the Chiefs' plans.
"So where do we dump it? We dump it on Wyandotte County. And that's not fair," Murray said.
The Chiefs' deal will use sales tax revenue to repay the bonds used to build the stadium.
Murray said the key is how big the map will be to capture sales taxes.
"You choose to buy a hot dog. It is okay for the stadium developer to capture that increment and feed it back into the deal. But now you want to capture the increment from the guy selling hot dogs a mile away. Now you want to capture that increment from the guy selling hot dogs ten miles away. I don't know that you can draw that through line to say that you deserve the hard work of that other," he said.
Ramirez said the plan could be stopped if Unified Government leaders decide not to expand that sales tax map.
He said it could scare investors if they believe the plan won't work.
"I think it really depends on how out loud the community is willing to get," Ramirez said.
He also said he made his feelings known to Mayor Watson about the stadium deal.
Ramirez said Watson decided it was in her best interest to go along with state lawmakers. Watson has been unavailable for comment both Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Chiefs released numbers from a new study on Tuesday.
The study claims that once the new stadium, practice/headquarters, and neighboring private real estate developments open in 2031, they will create a $1.5 billion annual economic impact.