Teams Win Disingenuous Victory

I had particular trouble with the funding mechanism for the rolling roof that would have cost around $200 million in addition to the $575 million in renovations planned for Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums. The voters were left with the impression that this roof would be all but free, paid for by some vague business tax.
Most of us routinely make purchases on the other side of state line. For instance, we at Ingram's cross the state line to do our printing. As I figure it, we would have paid almost enough "compensating use tax" just on our printing alone to perhaps earn naming rights on the roof.

For the record, the original Pyrrhus was an ambitious Greek general who had proved so successful in so many battles that he began to underestimate his opposition. Finally, in defeating the Romans at Heraclea and Asculum, the Greeks died in such numbers that Pyrrhus was driven to lament, “One more such victory and I am lost.”

As much as we at Ingram’s supported and hoped that the citizens of Jackson County would vote to improve the ballparks and to retain our teams, we were dismayed to watch the disingenuous and downright irri-tating campaign that turned what should have been a sure thing into a near defeat—and this, despite an incredible 3,000 to 1 spending advantage. Worse, it created a lingering sense of ill will among people whose good will the teams desperately need.

This style of campaign matched the graceless style of the recent Sprint Center arena campaign, in which campaigners made a villain of Enterprise Rent-A-Car and neighboring St. Louis. In this recent referendum, anyone who questioned the wisdom of the initiatives was treated not as a concerned citizen, but as a fool or an enemy. If these are victories, the KC metro area cannot afford too much more of the same.

The architects of the ballpark and Sprint Center drives ran them as if they were political campaigns in which all that mattered was winning. As the outcomes grew increasingly uncertain, the hype and the hysteria mounted daily with new and extravagant promises as did less than subtle deceptions.

Those of us in business know, however, that when something costs $200 million, someone will pay—at least those of us with business interests in Jackson County. To alienate businesses here, I might add, is the last thing that Jackson County and the state of Missouri should risk. The specific funding mechanism was to be a “compensating use tax” on large purchases made by Jackson Countians, primarily businesses from vendors outside the state. The estimate was that this tax would raise about $150 million for the roof over 25 years. Now, this would be all well and good were Kansas City not located on a state line. Many of us on either side routinely make purchases on the other side. For instance, we at Ingram’s cross the state line to do our printing. As I figure it, we would have paid almost enough “compensating use tax” just on our printing alone to perhaps earn naming rights on the roof.

If voters had been asked to pay for the roof out of their own pockets, this measure would have lost not narrowly, but decisively. If the Chiefs and NFL as well as the Royals and Major League Baseball feel they need a rolling roof to exploit their interests, they and perhaps private investors should step forward and fund it. At $200 million, in an already overtaxed environment, the roof was as far from a necessity as any measure ever put before the voters. People go to games in no small part to be outdoors.

There are other serious and necessary referendums on the ballot in the very near future. Those civic leaders who are dependent on public support need to take these initiatives out of the hands of hardball media consultants who only care about the notches on their belt. With the jigsaw of state and county lines, the area has enough divisions already. We don’t need any gratuitous ones.

Regards,

Editor-In-Chief & Publisher

Editorial@IngramsOnLine.com