Former Royals second baseman and Jackson County Executive Frank White, says no a referendum.
The National Football League Kansas City Chiefs ownership suffered a big loss earlier this week that might make a Chiefs loss to the Buffalo Bills in a divisional playoff game look like a minor and inconsequential defeat. Jackson County Executive Frank White vetoed a measure that would have put a 3/8th of a cent sales tax renewal on an April ballot to fund local stadium projects. It is that tax that would be used if Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and Major League Baseball Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman agree to stay in Jackson County or Kansas City to build Sherman a new stadium and renovate Clark’s present football facility. White, who played second baseball for the Royals between 1973 and 1990, released a statement outlining his reasoning. “This proposed sales tax would generate over $2 billion from our residents, yet there is no clear understanding or assurance regarding the teams’ commitments and contributions to the county. As of now, without binding agreements, we are poised to commit public resources without a clear understanding of the benefits and assurances for Jackson County.” The businesses claim that if voters get a chance to vote on whether the sales tax continues and say yes, they are committed to stay in Kansas City. Hunt wants a renovated facility and Sherman wants to move his business into a downtown area.
Time is becoming a critical factor in getting a referendum before the voters. The referendum has to be placed on the ballot by January 23rd in order for voters to get their chance to say yes or no in April. Sherman was supposed to have a site for a ballpark-village selected by the end of the 2023 baseball season. He has looked at a site in North Kansas City which is not in Jackson County. The Kansas City stadium game has gotten more interesting.
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