Unfettered Letters

Dowtown amphitheater

I know that many people agree that Kansas City needs downtown stadiums. I agree, but I think what KC also needs is a downtown, outdoor amphitheater.

I know people will say, well we have the Sprint Center for that. The Sprint Center will be great for many good, big-name musical attractions. However, being outside is a completely different experience and, in my opinion, is much more enjoyable for a concert.

People will also say that we already have Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Bonner Springs. Not for long. It has lost its manager, LiveNation (9/7, A-1, “The day the music died?”).

Moreover, as great of a venue as it is, it would be much neater downtown. Kansas City is definitely moving in the right direction in trying to improve our downtown, and I think an amphitheater there would be great for business as well as entertainment.

Connor Callahan
Kansas City

What could have been…

What a beautiful picture of PNC Park on the cover of Tuesday’s Sports Daily (7/11). With the downtown skyline looming in the background across the Monongahela River, Pittsburgh has the look of an incredibly modern, up-to-date city. And what a great public relations coup the All-Star Game has turned out to be for the city!

In contrast, when we finally host another All-Star Game in renovated Kauffman Stadium, all we’ll see in the background is the run-down Clarion Hotel, the traffic speeding past on Interstate 70, and long line of trolleys waiting to haul the out-of-town visitors back to where the action is.

How very sad.

Thomas A. Grimaldi
Kansas City

If you build it …

The Star recently published an article stating how great the new Busch Stadium and surrounding entertainment district in downtown St. Louis is going to be (6/18, Travel, “Busch’s league: Cardinals’ stunning new stadium builds on tradition and rallies downtown development”). A bit ironic, given the fact that The Star was vehemently against any such stadium being built here in Can’t-A-City. You won! Stop pouring salt in the wounds of the people who know the Royals should have been in downtown Kansas City.

Andrew Beck
Kansas City

A downtown dream

I traveled to Denver on Jan 21 for the NFC Championship Game. I was amazed at the excitement in the downtown area. It has its sports arenas, but the main artery for tourists is the 16th Street (Plaza-like) centerpiece.

The dream: Visualize for a moment transforming Grand or Main Street from around 8th Street (River Market area) through the Crown Center and Union Station area, on to the Plaza. Imagine a free bus running every few minutes, and no cars. Walking, bicycle rickshaws and carriages are all favorites.

This corridor would encourage development downtown and allow tourists and conventioneers to experience the entire city better.

By mirroring the 16th Street concept, Kansas City could have a carless, free bus route the length of the shopping corridor with connections to the train and other buses.

John Pontius
Kansas City

A downtown fallacy

John Thiesman of Gardner, Kan., (11/29, Letters) touted the idea of building a downtown ballpark in Kansas City as “a type of project with a proven success record.” He criticized the suggestion of building a rolling roof at the existing facility.

I agree with him about the roof, but I question that downtown ballparks have “proven success.”

It is probably true (but not assured) that a ballpark would invigorate downtown. But that invigoration would come at a cost to businesses that are not downtown. Such activity would not be an economic gain to the Kansas City metro. It would just transfer business from one location to another. And if a business relocated to downtown, that would cause a reduction in overall tax revenue, since the new location would be tax-abated.

Since Theisman wouldn’t be paying taxes to fund either project if it were built in Missouri, perhaps building the ballpark in Kansas would appeal to him.

Brian Ticknor
Kansas City

Help neighborhoods

There are many blighted neighborhoods in Kansas City, Mo. I live in one.

We have potholes big enough to damage a car tire. We have people who will not maintain their homes or yards because the city code inspectors and the courts will not enforce the codes.

I have tried to work with the inspectors and the homeowners association. I have written to Mayor Kay Barnes, Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Brooks and to my councilman about one house in particular. The lawn never gets mowed. It looks like a jungle. Nothing has been done.

We hear daily about our leaders’ plans for new sports arenas and stadiums, refurbished stadiums, rolling roofs and other multimillion-dollar plans that they want me to vote for and to pay for with my tax money.

I don’t think so — not until they can use the money we are all paying now to provide some basic services for neighborhoods.

Most of the people in Kansas City can’t afford to attend the events that take place at these arenas and stadiums anyway.  Why should we pay for a playground for the well off?

John Stolte
Kansas City

Why not downtown?

Some people believe that the possibility of building a downtown ballpark in Kansas City is some ludicrous, impractical, pie-in-the-sky fantasy. But the same people fully support the “rolling roof” idea.

Instead of investing hard-earned tax dollars into a type of project with a proven success record all over the country, these visionaries would rather blow a half-billion dollars on a 35-year-old plan that has never been taken seriously.

Some have also suggested that building a downtown ballpark would be stupid since Royals owner David Glass isn’t interested. But Glass has often stated he would be happy with whatever the people of Kansas City wanted.

He took a much stronger stance recently against the new roof on wheels, however, when he refused to contribute any funds to a plan that involved such a flagrant waste of money.

John B. Theisman
Gardner, Kan.

It wasn’t the ballpark

The downtownbaseball.com web site seems to imply, on its list of other downtown ballparks, that the Baltimore facility nearly doubled residential property values, generated 20,000 new jobs, and produced $3.5 billion in development. This is a gross misrepresentation of the truth.

The reality is that the property values, jobs, and development came almost exclusively from the redevelopment of the waterfront district in Baltimore, not from the ballpark. The waterfront redevelopment had been under way for some time before construction on the ballpark began.

David Lund
Kansas City

Denver a bad example

In recent weeks, there has been lots of discussion about a downtown ballpark for the Royals. Often, one of the comparisons used is the supposed success of Coors Field in Denver.

The facts are these: Attendance at Coors field in 1996, when it opened, was 3.4 million. That ranked first out of 14 teams in the National League. Since then, however, attendance has declined every year. In 2005 it was down to 1.9 million, 14th out of 16 teams. A primary reason is that there is no parking anywhere close around the stadium. Going to a game at Coors Field is a real headache. I have done it.

Get a clue. Leave the Royals where they are.

Lee Larson
Prairie Village

Baseball stadium

Choosing between upgrading Kauffman Stadium, building a baseball stadium downtown or doing nothing will ultimately rest with Jackson County taxpayers. Having a major-league baseball team is a benefit to the entire metropolitan area, so why is it that Jackson County taxpayers have to foot the entire bill?

Since Jackson County has the bulk of low-income persons and a per capita income lower than most of the other counties in our metro area, it seems that Jackson County taxpayers should select upgrading Kauffman Stadium.

If it is to the benefit of the metro area to have a new stadium downtown, then the Downtown Council should promote a plan to have the metro area pay for it.

Further, if those who own property or will benefit in other ways from a downtown stadium don’t live in Jackson County, it is unreasonable and disingenuous to ask for a Jackson County sales tax to finance their stadium.

Larry N. Blick
Independence

There is so much talk about how to finance the required renovations and repairs at Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums.

The bistate tax measure did not pass. Now there is talk about additional taxes for Jackson County in order to come up with the money. It seems that we already pay our fair share for the stadium.

What about all of the ticket holders who are not Jackson County residents? They pay the same price for their season tickets as I do. They pay no taxes to support the stadiums either.

I would suggest a stadium use fee be added to each ticket for non-Jackson County residents. If they do not have a street address in Jackson County, they would be subject to the extra fee.

It only seems fair that those who enjoy the stadiums should have to pay their fair share to maintain it. As you walk through the parking lot it is obvious that many more than just Jackson County residents are enjoying the stadium that they do not help support.

Cathi Christina
Independence