Mayor asks and Royals agree to pay Kansas City’s legal fees in downtown ballpark talks
In another sign that negotiations over a possible downtown ballpark are getting serious, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said Thursday that the Royals have agreed to cover the city’s legal costs surrounding those talks.
Lucas made the announcement at the end of the council’s business session. He said he asked the team to pay those fees because he assumed the Royals will be asking for significant taxpayer support in the form of “incentives, potential debt coverage by the city, and other legislative items,” if it builds a new ballpark downtown.
He said he assumed the Royals might put a cap on the amount of those expenses, but that will require negotiation. At its regular legislative session following that announcement, the council authorized City Manager Brian Platt to select an outside law firm to represent the city and to negotiate an agreement with the Royals to pay legal counsel directly.
Ahead of the vote, Lucas had sent an email to council members explaining the need to act quickly as the team’s goal is to have voters consider a stadium measure in April, and the deadline for getting one on the ballot is mid-January.
“Based on the accelerated timing and the elimination of substantial costs for professional services due to a reimbursement agreement, which is consistent with real estate transactions and commercial dealings, I ask that we authorize an agreement with the Royals to cover our costs with outside independent counsel.
“I anticipate a Business Session in the coming weeks to provide the City Council further opportunity to discuss the type of requests placed before the City by the Kansas City Royals, implications on arrangements with the Kansas City Chiefs, and next steps in connection with future negotiations.”
Jackson County is paying its own legal fees in negotiations with the team, which wants to leave Kauffman Stadium for a new home before its lease runs out on Jan. 31, 2031. Those talks center on the team’s request that an issue be put on the April ballot that would extend the current county sales tax that goes to pay off the debt incurred for renovations to Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums a dozen years ago and to reimburse the teams for maintenance and some operating expenses..
The Royals are also considering North Kansas City as the site of their proposed $1 billion stadium and $1 billion in commercial development around the ballpark.
This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 4:37 PM.
