Labor group turns in signatures to force vote on KC funding for new Royals stadium
A progressive labor advocacy group has turned in thousands of petition signatures in the hopes of triggering a public vote on Kansas City’s plan to help fund a new baseball stadium near downtown, referencing a similar citizen-initiated vote on the city’s new airport terminal nearly 10 years ago.
Missouri Workers Power, an affiliate of labor groups Missouri Workers Center and Stand Up KC, said in a news release on Friday that the organization delivered more than 4,500 signatures to the City Clerk’s Office to begin the process of a citizen-led initiative petition.
The aim of the petition is to give Kansas City voters the final say on whether the city provides up to $600 million of public funding for a new Royals stadium in the Crown Center area. The team is planning to build a $1.9 billion stadium where the current Hallmark headquarters stands on Gillham Road.
The petition essentially sets up the possibility of two public votes on the matter: one to approve the proposed ordinance that would put a stadium funding question on a future ballot, and then another for the stadium funding plan itself.
Missouri Workers Power said if the City Clerk’s Office is able to verify that the petition includes enough signatures from registered voters, a question asking voters to approve the proposed ordinance that would prompt a stadium vote will head to the ballot.
However, it’s unclear when such a vote on the proposed ordinance would occur. The organization said the City Council would have 60 days to consider enacting the ordinance itself before it would appear on the ballot, making the first of the two potential votes unnecessary. The Aug. 4 primary is exactly 60 days from Friday.
Officials for the City Clerk’s Office did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Terrence Wise, a leader for Missouri Workers Power, said in the news release that spending public funds on a new stadium wastes taxpayer dollars on private business when the city has needs elsewhere.
“The city is ready to hand him over $600 million of our money while we’re told there’s nothing left for the schools our kids go to, the buses we ride to work, and the housing we can’t afford,” Wise said.
“Public money should strengthen our communities, not their private fortunes,” he added, referring to the Royals ownership group.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a statement that the city will carry on with the project. He said construction of the stadium is expected to begin later this year or early next year.
City staff are still negotiating with Royals officials over how much funding the city will provide. The City Council also needs to sign off on any agreement.
Lucas added that the city will continue to engage with the public about the project “to ensure good paying jobs are a key part of the project.”
“Kansas City will continue to operate respectfully, but swiftly, to ensure it remains competitive in bringing new jobs and opportunities to our City,” Lucas said in the statement.
A copy of the ordinance the petition proposes shows it would amend the city’s redevelopment codes to include a provision that prohibits the city from supporting the construction of a new stadium, or ancillary development and infrastructure around that stadium, unless approved by voters.
It appears the ordinance would need to either be adopted by the City Council or be approved by voters in an election before the city could set up a separate vote on the proposed funding plan for the stadium.
Missouri Workers Power said the plan is modeled on a citizen-led petition that forced a public vote to authorize the $1 billion construction of a new airport terminal in 2017.
A public vote on that proposed ordinance was not necessary because the City Council in 2014 voluntarily adopted it, which then required putting the city’s plans to replace the terminal on the ballot. Voters later overwhelmingly supported the project during the 2017 general election.
