Nominee to Truman Sports Complex board has conflict over Royals stadium, legislators say
One of three nominees to serve on the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority has a conflict of interest that should disqualify him from serving, three members of the Jackson County Legislature say.
Those legislators believe Gov. Mike Parson should pick someone other than Emmet Pierson Jr. for an open seat on the five-member commission that is now in talks with the Royals over a possible move from Kauffman Stadium to a new downtown ballpark.
The conflict they see concerns a potential real estate deal that would need to occur, should the Royals settle on the East Village in downtown Kansas City as their preferred location for a new taxpayer-subsidized stadium.
Pierson is president and CEO of Community Builders of Kansas City, a non-profit developer that owns an apartment building that stands near where home plate would be.
Pierson acknowledged that he has been in talks with the Royals about that building, which would have to be purchased and demolished for a new stadium to be built there.
But when county legislator Sean Smith asked him at a June hearing whether he had any conflicts of interest with either the Chiefs or Royals, he denied having any.
“Being untruthful in a job interview like that should disqualify you,” Smith told The Star. “The governor has two better nominees he can choose from.”
Legislators Jalen Anderson and Jeanie Lauer agree with Smith that Pierson has a conflict of interest and should not get the appointment.
But Pierson told The Star he was being truthful because any conflict would be in the future. The Royals have yet to decide on a site, much less be in serious negotiations for acquiring his organization’s real estate.
And if he got on the board and those discussions became serious, he would recuse himself from the county’s negotiations with the Royals, he said.
“If there’s ever conflict, I will handle that conflict appropriately,” Pierson said. “Right now, I have the honor of being on the panel that’s gone to the governor; the governor makes that decision. He hasn’t made that decision.”
Pierson said he has talked with the Royals about affordable housing as part of a community benefits agreement, the team’s promise to do certain things in exchange for taxpayer support of a new stadium.
“So yes, I have had those conversations with them,” he said.
The East Village Apartments opened in 2011. With the help of tax credits and other public financing, Community Builders spent $11.9 million erecting the complex.
County real estate assessment records show the apartment building and adjacent parking lot valued at $1.4 million. That value is based on how much revenue the apartments produce, and rents are below market rate because it is “an affordable housing complex,” Pierson said.
Pierson said he would not personally profit from the purchase of those apartments, which he assumed would be done through an entity other than the Royals themselves.
A spokesman for the governor said he does not know when Parson will make his selection. His choice, from the three nominees forwarded by the county legislature, will require Missouri Senate confirmation.
Other legislators defend pick
Pierson was nominated in June with votes from legislative chairman DaRon McGee and five other county legislators.
McGee, who used to work at Community Builders, said in a text message Thursday that his former boss was “immensely qualified” for the post.
“Any suggestions to the contrary fail to reflect the truth of his competence, experience and ability to help protect taxpayer dollars,” McGee said.
Legislator Manny Abarca also defended his choice of Pierson in a text to The Star.
“Mr. Pierson was directly asked of his conflicts of interest, and he answered it in front of the entire legislature,” he wrote. “I am curious why this question is coming now of a qualified Black candidate and no other boards and commissioners with clear and apparent conflicts, like the ATA.”
The other two nominees for the sports commission also are Black. Robin Wheeler Sanders, former chief people officer at Swope Health, was appointed by Parson last year to the state ethics commission. Shaun Stallworth is a local employment attorney.
Abarca did not specify what conflicts he was referring to on the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority board.
Pierson said his long career as a real estate developer would be an asset to the board and hopes he gets the post, which pays $3,000 a year to compensate members for attending monthly meetings.
“Anytime it’s a gubernatorial appointment, it’s a big deal in your honor,” he said. “I have skill sets that can help the county as it looks at how it maintains and how it operates its stadiums.”
Royals owner John Sherman has said he will announce by the end of September whether he prefers the East Village or a site in North Kansas City for a proposed $1 billion, 35,000-seat stadium and $1 billion privately financed real estate development surrounding it.
Whichever he chooses, the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority board would take the lead in lease negotiations with the Royals, whose lease agreements are separate but intertwined with those of the Chiefs.
All the nominees for the seat now held by the Rev. John Modest Miles are Democrats. Miles, whose five-year term expired in July, also is a Democrat. The seat must be filled by someone from that party, per a state statute that says no more than three members of the board may come from the same political party.
This story was originally published September 7, 2023 at 11:33 AM.
