I love the Royals. But Kansas City shouldn’t subsidize billionaires | Opinion
I went to look at some new golf clubs the other day. My game has really been coming along, but the latest technology behind forged iron golf clubs is quite amazing and might take me to the next level. The only problem: Golf clubs are expensive and these really weren’t in the budget. Only this was no problem at all, because I figured I’d just call John.
“John Sherman’s office.”
“Good morning,” I said, “may I speak to Mr. Sherman, please?”
“He’s not in this morning. May I ask what this is regarding?”
“Sure,” I explained. “I don’t know John, but he also doesn’t know me. Yet, he’s asking me and all my neighbors to subsidize his hobbies, so I’m just asking for the same from him. I’m at the Golf Galaxy checkout with a new set of irons. How would Mr. Sherman like to help me pay for these?”
See how ridiculous the situation we’re in as a city is? I didn’t really call Mr. Sherman’s office — I wouldn’t know how to. And that’s OK, since I don’t really want to ask him to pay for part of my golf clubs. If I want to play golf, it’s on me to save my own money to do so, or seek my own form of subsidy by asking my wife. Similarly, if John Sherman wants to own a Major League Baseball team (and I’m glad he does), he needs to pay for his own toys. Asking the residents of our city, our county and our state to help subsidize venues that will be owned and operated by professional sports franchises making profits is offensive.
Years of careful economic analysis and study has borne out an unfortunate truth for John Sherman, Clark Hunt and all the other (mostly) men who own sports teams in America: Public subsidization of stadiums is not an effective form of economic development. It’s corporate welfare, and it should be called out as such. Stadiums are expensive, and having them in our city is a great luxury. I’m just not willing to foot the bill for luxuries when our basic needs are not being met.
I’m as passionate a Royals fan as you’ll find. I’ve been to at least one game every season that I’ve been alive, all at Kauffman Stadium, and counting to my 9-months-pregnant mother’s attendance at Game Two of the 1985 World Series one season before. Taking my 2-year-old daughter to games and instilling the same love for the team in her is a joy beyond measure. Hearing that the Royals had decamped to Nashville, or Charlotte, or even across the state line to Kansas, would be some of the saddest news I could imagine. But if that’s the result of our city saying no to handouts for extremely wealthy men — however well-meaning — so be it.
We’re talking about real money. Resources are finite, and we can’t pay for everything. I wish we had more. Until we do, I’d rather we spend our money on infrastructure, on public services, on education — on 100 other things — before we spend it on a new stadium, even for a team I love.
I hope others in our area feel the same way, and I think they do. Either way, I’m happy to play golf with John Sherman, as long as he can pay his own greens fee. I’m done supporting the leisure pursuits of billionaires. Go Royals!