Good for KC Council members, who hit pause on Kemper demolition and seek new options
Kansas City Council members mulling the fate of Kemper Arena came to a welcome epiphany on Thursday.
Perhaps the American Royal Association should not have the final say on whether to demolish the underused but architecturally important, city-owned landmark. That was the implication of their suggestion to draft a request for proposals for envisioning a new life for Kemper.
The American Royal has proposed razing and replacing Kemper with a smaller mixed-use facility. Its officials contend that would help keep the organization viable and energize the surrounding West Bottoms district to boot. For a $30 million capital investment from Kansas City taxpayers, plus $1 million annual operating subsidy over 30 years, the Royal would relieve the city of the burden of owning and maintaining the current American Royal Center. By their figuring, the plan would save the city upwards of $100 million.
Yet, finally, after more than four months of this concerted study, a joint council committee got an earful from preservationists and vocal opponents of the Royal plan. Council member Scott Wagner properly called the Royal’s numbers into question and demanded a genuine business plan from the Royal, which it has not really produced.
Speaking for members of the Historic Kansas City Foundation, former councilman Dan Cofran presented his compelling and argumentative study of the city’s lease with the Royal and a series of financial options. He and others questioned the viability of the American Royal and wondered if the city weren’t being set up for a taxpayer bailout.
All this was good news for those who believe the city should take previous West Bottoms planning studies seriously; reuse and not wastefully destroy historic buildings; and resist the self-interested demands of a private organization seeking many more millions of taxpayer dollars.
This story was originally published November 14, 2014 at 11:40 AM with the headline "Good for KC Council members, who hit pause on Kemper demolition and seek new options."