Don’t build a downtown Royals stadium before listening to Kansas City’s needs | Opinion
The discussion about a possible new downtown stadium for the Royals has been at the top of headlines for quite a while. The average person probably does not consider the location of the new stadium critical. So why are journalists all over the story? They’ve reported on developments like these many times, and can tell when public officials have already made decisions on our behalf. They’re reporting on downtown baseball because they know regardless of how people feel, politicians have the plans and votes to do it anyway.
The downsides to constructing a new stadium are diverse: parking concerns, displacement of communities akin to what happened during the construction of Kauffman Stadium, prices for downtown housing already out of control, the use of public money to build it — the list is long.
But what all of those concerns share is a feeling of people being left out — almost as if this supposedly incredible community asset is happening to you instead of for you.
Just as baseball franchise CEOs are paid to look out for the future of their teams, public officials are paid to advocate for the needs of both the current and future residents of our city. Before team CEOs make important decisions, they should communicate with ownership, managers and other stakeholders — people with valuable perspectives on the collective success of the organization.
At the bare minimum, public officials have a duty to communicate with their community honestly and promptly about big decisions. How can you advocate for our needs without asking what they are? The perspectives of the people who live here matter the most in these conversations. When was the last time you were asked how you feel instead of being told what’s best for you?
Elected officials have to make decisions every day on our behalf. Balancing priorities can be difficult, as they are pulled in so many directions: Organizations, neighborhoods, the people who funded your campaign — they all want different things. But if elected officials are truly accountable to their community, their community will come first. Good leaders will seek your opinions and perspectives. The promises they made will be kept. Instead of feeling deceived and ignored, constituents will feel a sense of partnership.
Publicly accountable public servants solve problems for you like it’s their job, because it is. We shouldn’t have to beg for attention to the issues most important to us.
Community engagement and feedback tell me housing should be at the top of Kansas City’s priority list. When the government decides to fund multibillion-dollar projects with taxpayer money, those projects better have enormous community benefits equal to the huge financial investment. In these kinds of development, there are ways to ensure affordable housing is included in excess, and that displacement is avoided in creative ways if public money is to be used. There are solutions to all of these real concerns, but only if we discuss them collectively.
The owners of the Royals have suggested they would seek public money from Jackson County and the state. Even if they do not approach the City Council for public funding, city leaders should advocate for us by lobbying their county counterparts to bargain for public benefit. If public money is used to build a baseball stadium rather than address critical civic issues, there must be a high percentage of truly affordable housing units in this development, along with other community benefits.
Downtown baseball isn’t the people’s priority. But if the decision is already made, we can build in enough benefit for the community for it to work for us.
The current process of community engagement is broken — but it doesn’t have to be this way. If you’re tired of expensive “solutions” to our problems constantly making the news — the Truman Road bike lane backlash, luxury buildings by out-of-town developers at the expense of schools and libraries, inadequate short-term houselessness plans every winter — choose leaders who include you in decisions about your community before they happen.
If we don’t adjust our standards for leadership and communication, this cycle will repeat forever. Big decisions will have already been made by the time you even hear about them. Your neighborhood leaders, community advocates and neighbors deserve respect. Let’s make decisions together from the start, in good faith, for the good of everyone. We are capable of that if we demand leadership accountable to our community.