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Where do I begin?? Ok, I will begin at the beginning of this fairy tale that there will be no cost to the taxpayers to build a Domed Stadium for the Chiefs in the land of Wyandotte and perhaps a Stadium for the Royals in the land of Johnson at 119th and Nall, where the peasants have had their opposition pitchforks in the ready for the last several weeks. HB 2001, the enabling legislation for this fairy tale, was passed by the Kansas Legislature during the 2024 Special Session in which they were supposed to find a way to reduce property taxes… that goal was lost in the hubris of the possibility of Kansas being the home to TWO MAJOR LEAGUE TEAMS!!!!!!! At no cost to the taxpayers, WOW!!!! Except as of June 2025 there has been approximately $35 million transferred from the State Gaming Revenue Fund to the Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund. That is $35 million which could have been transferred to the Kansas General Fund, but oh well. Here is the link to the summary of HB 2001: According to HB 2001, the Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund will continue to collect revenue from the State Gaming Revenue Fund when revenues exceed $71.49 million. But please don’t notice, because if you did you would realize that the taxpayers are already footing the bill and it’s just beginning!! Then we have the super-duper sized Star Bond District, which according to the KC Business Journal will comprise approximately 293 square miles!!! Here is the link to the map: https://www.kansascommerce.gov/…/STAR-Bond-Chiefs-map.pdf Next the total for the Star Bonds, according to the KC Business Journal, will be $2.773 BILLION at this point. Who knows what the final cost will be. The stadium will be owned by the State of Kansas through a brand-new “public authority”. Ok, $2.773 billion of Star Bonds for a stadium owned by a brand-new public authority created by the State of Kansas, what happens if the sales tax revenue falls short of forecast?? WILL THE STATE OF KANSAS come to the rescue and use general fund dollars to keep the project from defaulting on the Star Bonds???? I told you this was a fairy tale. Here is the link to Kansas City Business Journal’s take on the project: https://www.bizjournals.com/…/chiefs-kansas-star-bond… In the headline: public cost could top $6.3B…. please note PUBLIC COST, that means tax dollars from you and me. Next is the narrative being spun by:
https://www.kansascommerce.gov/…/gov-kelly-and-kansas…/ And finally, this is from the KC Star: J.C. Bradbury, a professor at Kennesaw State University in Georgia who has studied sports economics, told The Star that even though taxes won’t be raised under the plan, giving public money to one cause necessarily means taking it from somewhere else. In this case, incremental sales tax growth that would otherwise go towards state and local government priorities will be tied up in debt service for the stadium STAR bonds. “There’s no such thing as a free stadium,” Bradbury said. “Building a stadium — there’s no channel for it to increase wealth,” Bradbury said. “There’s no channel for it to pay for itself because stadiums aren’t economic development catalysts, and so that money has to come from somewhere else.” And we all know where that somewhere else is…it will come from our pockets. Star Bonds are a complicated subject and these stadium Star Bonds have many, many moving parts. I will continue to monitor and write about this train wreck. …………………………………… If you want to contribute to the campaign for this reporting cycle you need to do it before tomorrow at midnight, New Year’s Eve. Thank you for your support and I will continue working for you!!! 💻 Donate online: oharaforkansas.com O’Hara for Kansas With gratitude, |
Fairy Tales: The Chiefs’ Stadium Star Bonds
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I am honored to be running for re-election as Johnson County District 3 Commissioner, and I am committed to continuing to serve our entire community with integrity, dedication, passion and faith. I have consistently advocated for the interests of “We The People.”
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