Mark Funkhouser proposes a cut to Kansas City stadium budgets

A few weeks ago, Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser called for the city to cut its $2 million subsidy of the Truman Sports Complex. Instead, Funkhouser thinks this money should go to providing services to Kansas City citizens,  such as improving street maintenance, expanding automated trash collection for certain neighborhoods, enhancing code enforcement, boosting the 311 Action Center hotline and funding a popular paint program and an innovative crime prevention program. (Read more).

The head of the Jackson County Sports Authority Mike Smith warns that this is a risky proposal because cutting this funding potentially invites the professional Kansas City sports teams to renegotiate their leases or go someplace else.

After reading a few articles and watching a few videos on this issue, I began to think about the significance of having a professional baseball and football team.

1. Income: I’m no economist, but it seems to me that these teams and the sports complexes bring in a lot of money to the city. They provide jobs to Kansas Citians and bring in income through taxes, ticket sales, and parking.
2. Entertainment: Although the Chiefs and the Royals have seen more bad days than good in recent years, they are still an important soure for leisure and activity in Kansas City. The Plaza, Loose Park, Kansas Speedway etc. are not enough to make Kansas City the great city it should be.
3. Rivalry: Americans have made competition a very important aspect of their lifestyles. If Kansas City lost their sports teams, St. Louis would definitely be the best city in Missouri. Could Kansas Citians bear this? I don’t think so.

After coming up with these ideas about the Kansas City sports complex and our professional baseball and football teams, I realized that we just can’t afford to lose the Chiefs and the Royals.

What do you think?

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