Contract for downtown Kansas City Royals stadium is on ice for now. That’s good

Kansas City Manager Brian Platt has suspended plans to hire a consultant to take part in stadium talks involving the Royals and Chiefs.

In a memo to City Council members dated Sept. 1 and provided to The Star, Platt said he would “refrain” from engaging the consultant until his staff can further discuss potential stadium requirements with a council committee, or the full council.

It’s the right decision.

A day earlier, on Aug. 31, Platt told the council he planned to hire former Wyandotte County Administrator Doug Bach as the city’s representative in stadium negotiations. The contract would pay Bach’s company up to $120,000 a year for its services.

The Star’s editorial board revealed the contract the next morning. That afternoon, after the story was published, Platt said he would delay signing the deal.

“I will refrain from signing any agreement until staff shares potential contract, land, and infrastructure obligations under law with council in a committee or full council closed session,” Platt said.

While the city’s interest in the stadium negotiations is clear, there is no evidence of an immediate need to hire an outsider to oversee the talks. And there is certainly no need to do so unilaterally, without a full discussion with the City Council and the public.

At the same time, there are important lessons to be learned from this wrinkle in the stadium saga, which has captivated the region for some time.

The public still has no idea what the Royals want to do, or the Chiefs. The Royals have said they’re exploring a downtown stadium, but have not disclosed specifics, or said when a decision might be made.

No one knows for sure what the Chiefs may request — a renovated stadium, a new stadium, or a move across the state line into Kansas. We still don’t know who will pay for needed renovations for the World Cup in 2026.

The lack of transparency from both clubs, and murky comments from local officials involved in the negotiations, have prompted a frenzy of speculation and rumor. Platt’s decision to hire an “owner’s representative” accelerated the guessing game.

The secrecy is extraordinarily harmful. Taxpayers are already skeptical about a significant investment in stadiums for the franchises. Their concerns will harden into outright opposition if they believe deals are being cooked up behind closed doors, without a full public debate.

Platt’s plan to hire a stadium consultant would not have been fatal to prospects for downtown baseball, or a new stadium for the Chiefs. But the city — and Jackson County, and other interested parties — cannot negotiate stadium deals in private, then dump the results in taxpayers’ laps as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition.

The public must be front and center in the talks. To date, they’ve largely been in the background.

Platt needs to keep this in mind. After his original memo became public, we asked his office, and the city’s communications department, if any council members had objected to the Bach contract. We were stonewalled at every turn, for several days, on even the most routine questions.

That kind of obstinance could doom a downtown stadium. While the city may need an outsider to protect its interests, the public needs someone, too.

So far, everyone connected with the stadium debate has acted as if the public’s views don’t matter. That has to end, or the stadium plans will collapse.

This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 10:27 AM.