Mayor Q endorses ‘Yes’ vote on stadium sales tax extension
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Royals and Chiefs might have picked up their biggest endorsement yet on the proposed stadium sales tax extension.
On Saturday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas appeared at Kauffman Stadium urging Jackson County to vote ‘yes’ on question 1.
“Big events and great venues that can host them matter for Kansas City. They matter for Kansas City’s bottom line. This is how we have the funding to address the issues that we have each and every day,” said Lucas. “This city needs to be able to continue to attract that. Not just now, but well into the future.”
The proposed 40-year extension of the 3/8 cents sales tax is estimated to cost Jackson County $2 billion. The sales tax extension would partially fund a downtown ballpark for the Royals, as well as upgrades for the Chiefs at Arrowhead. Lucas says KCMO has not pledged any money to the stadium projects.
“The city has made no financial commitment to either project yet,” added Lucas. “Some people describe these things as if there is some sort of blank check, either form the city of Kansas City or the state of Missouri, and it’s anything but. We will have those important conversations always with adherence to what is the right play for the Kansas City taxpayer.”
Despite Mayor Q’s endorsement coming just days before the vote, both the Chiefs and Royals say he has been involved in negotiations for a long time.
“His endorsement of this today is very important,” said Chiefs President Mark Donovan. “He’s been involved since the beginning. We’ve had many, many discussions, many late nights, many weekends, and he’s always been there saying, ‘How do we get this done?’”
“We’ve been in close communication for a long time. The first step here is to secure this kind of base financing, a simple extension of an existing tax,” Royals owner John Sherman said.
Jackson County voters will decide on the fate of the tax on Tuesday at the polls.
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