KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Talk of a new downtown ballpark has fans split on whether to financially support a new location.
At Sports Radio 810 WHB, host Jason Anderson heard from many fans on the text line.
“The feeling I get is that it’s more in favor than against," Anderson said.
The host also supports the idea of a downtown ballpark.
“I think it’s all just heading in the direction of Kansas City continuing to say that we’re a serious city," Anderson said. "We’re not a cow town. I don’t care what the coast thinks about the city; we’re a serious city."
However, some fans prefer to keep things the way they are.
“We had a text line that said, ‘build a winner on the field and then we can pay for a baseball stadium.'" Anderson said.
On Tuesday, Chairman and CEO John Sherman sent a letter explaining the need for a new ballpark and told Jackson County residents they would not pay more in taxes than they already do.
“Teams are wanting more and more, right?" said journalist Neil deMause. "They don’t just want a place to see a ballpark (or) ballgame. They want a place to have lots of restaurants and lots of corporate seating and lots of party spaces and things like that.”
deMause is the author of "Field of Schemes" and has written about stadium finances.
“In most cases, the team owners get the bulk of the benefits, and the city and its residents either get stuck with a really large tag or, at best, maybe hope to break even," deMause said.
At Charlie Hooper's Bar and Grille in Brookside, some fans are not thrilled with the idea of a downtown ballpark.
“My first thought was I didn’t like it because the parking down there will be terrible," said Bill Frick. "And everybody likes to tailgate at the Royals game. That will be a problem."
However, fan Jackie Minse said if she still lived in Jackson County, she would support a new downtown ballpark.
“I feel like we should be supporting our local teams," Minse said. "I wouldn’t mind paying a little more taxes for that.”
