KANSAS CITY, Mo. — OnGoal LLC, the parent company of Sporting Kansas City, agreed last week to make $7 million in contributions to Wyandotte County development projects as part of a resolution of a payroll-tax settlement associated with the former Cerner campus at Village West.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Friday that OnGoal LLC’s contribution would benefit 2026 FIFA World Cup preparations, the Quindaro Ruins renovation and other projects in Wyandotte County.
The tax dispute stemmed from $48 million in state incentives that were pledged in 2010 to help land up to 4,500 jobs at a Cerner office complex in Village West. The incentives had two key benchmarks — creating a certain number of jobs and generating a sufficient amount of withholding taxes.
Kelly’s office said the jobs requirement was lifted by former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s office prior to Kelly taking office in 2019.
However, the developers failed to meet the withholding threshold, triggering a state effort to “claw back” up to $3.04 million worth of incentives per year. The development did not meet the threshold in 2021.
Cerner abandoned the office park — dubbed the Continuous Campus — and put it up for sale in August 2021 as part of a consolidation of its employees at the Innovations Campus in south Kansas City, Missouri.
A total of roughly $7 million will be paid to the following projects:
- Willa Gill Services Center, $2 million;
- 2026 FIFA World Cup, $2 million;
- Quindaro Ruins, $1 million;
- Community projects east of I-635, $1 million;
- Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, $500,000;
- Wyandotte County Historical Museum, $250,000;
- National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame; $250,000.
“Since day one of my administration, I have directed the Department of Commerce to pursue business deals in a way that benefits our communities,” Kelly said Friday in a release.
Kelly said the agreement reached with OnGoal shows how businesses are held accountable when they don’t deliver.
“I’m so glad this agreement will uplift the entire region by supporting worthy projects like the Quindaro Ruins and the upcoming World Cup,” Kelly said.
An attorney representing OnGoal said the company was pleased with the settlement, distributions for which will begin this week and must be completed by the end of 2025.
“OnGoal appreciates the partnership with the State of Kansas and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County,” Polsinelli shareholder Korb Maxwell, who represents OnGoal, said in a statement. “For more than a decade, OnGoal has been committed and invested in the local community and looks forward to further enhancing Kansas City, Kansas as a major destination.”
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