Post by Primusgod on May 15, 2005 13:35:58 GMT -5
Posted on Sun, May. 15, 2005
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Hunt
Sproles
Legislative inaction could soon set Chiefs and Royals free
TOP OF THE MORNIN'
By HOWARD RICHMAN
The Kansas City Star
In case you missed it, the Chiefs and Royals got one step closer Friday to becoming free agents.
Missouri lawmakers in Jefferson City gave a thumbs-down to a plan for utilizing additional tax revenues to maintain Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums. The legislation called for taking revenue from the state's current tax on athletes and entertainers and using it to add as much as $10 million per year into needs for the two stadiums that each are more than 30 years old.
The bottom line now: If Jackson County cannot sufficiently fund the required repairs to maintain state-of-the-art stadiums — as stipulated by the leases — the leases for the Chiefs and Royals would be voided, and both franchises would be free to move.
How soon? It is feared the county could fall short of being able to maintain the stadiums within two years.
Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt issued a statement to voice his disappointment with Friday's outcome.
“The taxing of professional athletes who use the stadiums now exists in the state of Missouri, and we felt it was a reasonable source of funding for the maintenance and repairs of the stadium,” Hunt said. “With these funds now unavailable to the Sports Complex, it raises the possibility of default on the part of Jackson County.”
Jackson County Sports Authority chairman Michael Smith said his organization will work with county executive Katheryn Shields and the county Legislature in the coming weeks in an attempt to identify options available to meet the repair and maintenance requirements at the Sports Complex.
“Ultimately, the beneficiary of these efforts is metropolitan Kansas City and the economic impact attributable to having the Chiefs and Royals in this region. That seems to have been overlooked in all of this,” Smith said.
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()
Hunt
Sproles
Legislative inaction could soon set Chiefs and Royals free
TOP OF THE MORNIN'
By HOWARD RICHMAN
The Kansas City Star
In case you missed it, the Chiefs and Royals got one step closer Friday to becoming free agents.
Missouri lawmakers in Jefferson City gave a thumbs-down to a plan for utilizing additional tax revenues to maintain Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums. The legislation called for taking revenue from the state's current tax on athletes and entertainers and using it to add as much as $10 million per year into needs for the two stadiums that each are more than 30 years old.
The bottom line now: If Jackson County cannot sufficiently fund the required repairs to maintain state-of-the-art stadiums — as stipulated by the leases — the leases for the Chiefs and Royals would be voided, and both franchises would be free to move.
How soon? It is feared the county could fall short of being able to maintain the stadiums within two years.
Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt issued a statement to voice his disappointment with Friday's outcome.
“The taxing of professional athletes who use the stadiums now exists in the state of Missouri, and we felt it was a reasonable source of funding for the maintenance and repairs of the stadium,” Hunt said. “With these funds now unavailable to the Sports Complex, it raises the possibility of default on the part of Jackson County.”
Jackson County Sports Authority chairman Michael Smith said his organization will work with county executive Katheryn Shields and the county Legislature in the coming weeks in an attempt to identify options available to meet the repair and maintenance requirements at the Sports Complex.
“Ultimately, the beneficiary of these efforts is metropolitan Kansas City and the economic impact attributable to having the Chiefs and Royals in this region. That seems to have been overlooked in all of this,” Smith said.
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