Quinton Lucas, KCMO Mayor, On Royals Stadium at Washington Square Park | 4-16-26

one week ago we sat here talking to the mayor about a lot of different topics and then hours later we get this bombshell of a deal potentially with the Kansas City Royals going to Washington Square Park so as we welcome the mayor back on the show I was really hoping we would have gotten the scoop on that last week Mr. Mayor during this time slot we didn't so the timing I want to start with the timing of the announcement last week two days after the e-tax also a little bit after you kind of had the end of spring training as a soft deadline is this rollout of this offer to the Royals was this something the Royals wanted or was this from your perspective City Hall saying hey guys here's our offer let's get going we've continued having discussions throughout the past several months I'm excited with where we are now I think like anything in life it's a two-way conversation so you get a chance to see where you are I'm just glad glad that we got to the point where I think we were ready to at least publicize what the city side of the discussion was we don't have any conversation in a vacuum that ranges from both the deal terms and certainly what the rollout and kind of what the presidential would be I'm glad we are where we are now and I think the public by and large and I do listen to some of your I think helpful comments and questions but I'm glad that most of the public seems pretty excited that we'll get on with this conversation and hopefully get a new ballpark who keeps the Royals here for 30 years so if if your perception is that most of the public's on board why not just take throw it on a ballot and see where the folks are at because I think this is first of all that's not what we do every week at City Council I vote on probably 20 things every week and I vote on 20 things that I'm sure a lot of people may have disagreements on but I'm elected to office to make decisions like every level of government is we didn't vote on the Iran war we haven't voted on a Missouri income taxes at least not yet there are a lot of things that we have in and so you know I think that we are charged with this power to make important decisions for the people of our community this is a tax incentive deal very distinct from what the Jackson County sales tax was Jackson County was asking for a county wide vote where somebody in grand view was gonna have to pay a family is gonna have to pay probably about $100 a year or so to help support a stadium that perhaps they never went to this is very different and I think that's why I'm looking at this incentive tool we're looking at mainly users funding what will be the future ballpark and entertainment district going to help support it and I think that is more like the economic development work we do every day to build CP KC Stadium the women's soccer stadium nobody ever asked me about or you know the discussions that are happening in every other project around the city and that's why I'm confident that this is a good path so we did learn yesterday with the Kansas City Business Journal piece that the taxpayer will be backing the bonds on this $600 million deal that's that's correct right that is correct yeah so if the taxpayers the one taking the risk why not give them a shot and say hey you know what tell me what you think give me a vote you know I look I think that that is what we do on economic development incentives I think we want to trust local government and state governments to try to do their best I think look we're honest here with what the backing is I know in Kansas perhaps they use voodoo economics and suggest that you can issue state bonds of several billion dollars and that there's absolutely no impact on the fiscal health of the state I don't think that's realistic and I don't think most bond people would tell you that is at all in Kansas City the way that we typically do these things and that's the way we did a number of different things and I'll go back to the women's soccer stadium which is not cheap necessarily you do issue bonds to help support the development of the project and the delivery of it that has been a chore of it for us I think that we've done a good job very distinct by the way from empowering like district development of 20 years ago we are looking at what's generated at Kauffman Stadium today you build out what that would be estimated to be over 30 years you use that to come up with your estimates of what we believe we can afford then you talk to the state of Missouri about what they can provide to show me investment I don't expect them to have more commentary on that soon then that's how you deliver a vital ballpark and you have a question on how important a downtown ballpark is look no further than downtown St. Louis where the ballpark is large is the thing that keeps things going I think the Kansas City is in a stronger position but I think that this is going to be additive to our community long-term and I think we have been very fiscally responsible I'd say even fiscally conservative in making sure we address it and let me make this point right this is based on funding that comes currently from the fact of Kansas City Royals play in Kansas City Missouri if they did not for everybody was saying oh my gosh you guys should spend that on everything under the sun the money goes away unless we get another major league baseball team this isn't the sort of thing where we just get to hold on to it and spend it somewhere else I hate to tell people this the chief's money that was generated by the chiefs for years winning if they open a spot over and by the legends right that money is gone so it's not like we can say oh thank goodness right now we have an extra however much to spend this is from the Kansas City perspective we can't say we have all the sales tax money we can now spend on you know anything under the sun so that's why we think it's a good deal that's why we think it's a vital deal and that's why I think that it follows core economic development principles that are different than a countywide sales tax type of approach so and I understand that the argument there mayor Lucas is here on KCMO so basically what you're saying is we're projecting this money based on what they currently bring into the city so we could either theoretically lose it somewhere else or just give it back to him right like that's that's that's basically what you're saying that is at its core correct okay so but then why if the state's kicking in 50% you guys go all the way to 600 mil which basically puts this at almost 80% of the project being funded by the state in the city why why go why not do half of that and say listen you guys are getting half from the state we'll give you 300 mil but we're not gonna give you everything like it just from a from a pure business negotiation standpoint why did you feel like you had to give them everything because the answer to that is the state ain't kicking in 50% right and I'll leave it to them to share with you how much that ultimately will be but our number doesn't come out of a cloth and it wasn't just a will you please you know just date me and I'll give you this much money these are calculations that have been based on extensive discussions over time between I think the city the state the Kansas City Royals and others that's how we get to what we view as a responsible member look I look I would love to be sitting in a position of the mayor of Olathe or Kansas City Kansas right now and to say you know hey will you give me a new stadium and my jurisdiction and I put in almost you know they're putting in something now but I don't put in that much yeah absolutely that would be great that is not how things have been done and in fairness to Jackson County and this was some of Frank White's point the last time I disagreed with most everything but on this point he wasn't wrong right the city of Kansas City itself our taxpayers put in a lot a lot of us are Jackson County ins the city itself has been a pretty strong beneficiary for 60 years of the stadiums getting most of the sales taxes getting earnings taxes getting other proceeds generated the stadium while there was a Jackson County sales tax that funded it all that is a change that is not a positive change I like that's probably a big reason why I'd like the 2024 sales tax renewal because it was better certainly for the Kansas City government that being said I think this is another fair way and you know the benefit is it gets rid of the sales tax that our citizens pay unless the county comes up with some reason to renew it which I think would certainly be under some level of scrutiny who did you feel like you were at this point in the negotiation competing against the most you know that's a good question I mean I think that and I get kind of the premise which is you know it seems as if were they coming anywhere anyway I mean I I always think that I'll never get too cocky I think there were a bunch of people in Jackson County tons of metal guy at the golf course at Swilt Park who you know talked to me a week after the vote in 24 and said well you know I voted no because you know thought of a silly which you absolutely had every right to do but he said but I figure we're gonna work something out and they'll just stay and I said I'm not sure about that so you know it's easy to suggest that all right you know we're one of the few parties that we negotiate with them but I absolutely believe that we not only were but continue to be in competition with a situation where the Royals move not just potentially to a suburban community but move somewhere else and the reason I say this is not because I don't love and trust team ownership and don't believe their Kansas City people that because money exists in the world and if somebody said to leadership not just not saying they feel this way but if the Shermans and others just threw up their hands and said you know what we liked this thing maybe we'll make a little money out of selling we're gonna sell to name your party but there couldn't be somebody who could sweep in that is exactly what happened with Seattle SuperSonics right we're Clay Bennett Oklahoma kind of just bottom nobody's expected to move and he said you know what I like them here or any other potential ownership entity I think you need to lock down your teams if you think they're important if you don't think the Kansas City Royals are important to stay here sure you know gamble and say we have a nice place and we'll be fine and you know that's St. Louis on NFL Sundays and you know what maybe they're doing great you know I don't know there's still a bigger metro than us most of the trends I don't hear are better than ours but maybe but you know I think this is important I think this is additive and that's why I see my competition like I do on any business retention or attraction not just the suburbs of Kansas City but any other community that frankly has someone interested in monetizing and profiting from a team like that. Mayor Luke is joining us on KCMO okay so with the with the $600 million and the city back in the bonds I know you told the Kansas City Business Journal and I'm paraphrasing here you tell me if I'm wrong hey basically it's cheaper if if the city obviously or if a municipality backs the bonds than if the Royals get it on their own and that's the conversation that's happening on the Kansas side with the chiefs and we'll see whether or not you know those bonds are not backed by the state of Kansas I believe they ultimately will get back by the state of Kansas because of how it's set up but that being the case if it's just revenues that already exist at the K and are being applied to this new stadium at Washington Square Park I'm looking at it and saying if that's true if those projections are right then there's not a lot of risk to it so why not say to the Royals hey $600 million okay we'll work with you here but you got to have a little more skin in the game here and at least have them back the bonds if it is a conservative estimate why not go that route a few things I think first the nature of how we do these obligations on the Missouri side has been the government backing of the debt on these larger stadium projects a lot of that relates fundamentally to the tax treatment right and it is a very different tax prospect to a giant privately owned stadium sporting Kansas City in essence deals with some elements of that and so you end up seeing different TIF districts and all of that so in some ways you'll get to the same long-term reality I think however the other step is that we the cost of borrowing is just lesser with the governmental entity and so for us we think that that is a fair arrangement that exists between the parties the Royals are bound to us would be bound to us of all of this comes to fruition for 30 years we do also believe that the Royals private investment which will be outside of that 1.9 billion dollar stadium estimate the private investment in terms of nearby real estate other development other projects are the sorts of things they're gonna lift the Kansas City tax-based long-term I mean Kansas City has been for better or worse when you critiques for it but been in the incentive business for a little while now I think Kansas City is still better off for it when you look at downtown core growth in the core of the city right had we not been engaged then you would be looking through a walking zombie land like you have in some other American cities we are not there we still see major events in the core of the city that people go to that you go to the crowds like and that's an important part of how we make money as a city frankly Pete commercial office I'll be honest is diffuse and it ain't really coming back I agree way that it used to I agree but if I may big part of what we do I know you know you your time is precious and I want to just get a quick one in here on that note in particular the private investment it would help you so much right now and I think the Royals would help themselves if they said by the way yeah we're getting this you know help from the city in the state but guess what we've got another two billion dollars in private investment and here's what's going to happen I'm sure that plan is coming but in the meantime I you know everyone's taken a lot of slings and arrows here that may be unnecessary because we don't know what else you're looking at so can you tell us what the Royals have told you about what the commitment would be outside of the stadium in this area you know I think the Royals are gonna probably share that fairly soon assuming that everything goes the way that we're hoping we wanted to make clear what the public investment was and have a public conversation relating to it I expect the Royals to have a robust private development plan that they're sharing as well but I just know some of the basics to every Royals game has a thousand employees a thousand people working people in and around Kansas City that's going to be a good added benefit to keep in Kansas City you're going to already see and you're already frankly seeing robust real estate activity in and around the sites that have been discussed and I think that you're going to continue to see that growth I want all the information in the world to be I wish it was a different time where people not only have big press conferences but frankly at press conferences where they shared everything gave all the facts and all of that whether it's leaks or the way business has done these days in America and the stadium development this is kind of where we live and I'll say this too despite all the critiques you know back in December you saw an announcement that everybody ran with it was the center of Christmas dinner conversations where the chief said yeah we're moving to Kansas all the stuff's great and we knew nothing nothing yeah we just knew like the others I mean remember the day of didn't have a cost didn't have a place didn't have anything other than the chiefs are coming home whatever that means right what we have shared is a cost of the stadium you have a location you have at least some level of what the government investment is right you understand the parties that are coming to the table the only difference is we're actually doing a public conversation first with the public and Senate as opposed to just saying we got a deal I think all these things will come out I think it will be very clear I have liked the transparency we've had thus far and I look forward to the other actors as they come into the conversation to share even more that's fair I mean I think there's an element to that that does make it into the tallest midget conversation but I understand what you're saying there and and how you're comparing it to what happened in Kansas but just just to reiterate do you have more I know it's not maybe your job to share it but you've got something from the team on your end in terms of what this is all going to look like beyond this $1.9 billion stadium that makes you feel better about the investment from the taxpayer I have confidence that there is robust private investment that will come from the team and other real estate partners in and around that area that frankly transforms the Washman Square Park Crown Center area for the next 30 years and I think that will be outstanding for Kansas City downtown midtown and beyond well we look forward to that and this vote today I mean I'm sure you're very confident I think it's gonna roll through you think it's gonna be all set and done you confident in that you know I'm very confident in it I'm excited by the really robust public conversation we had over the last week I'm sad it couldn't start on Monday Monday in the morning but I can't give you everything Pete so you know you've given us some good stuff over the years so we'll let that last slide but we do appreciate the time Mr. Mary will be watching from City Hall today and we look forward to what's next on this project appreciate you being here as always and answering some of these questions thanks for your time yeah let's go right we'll see you all right there you go Kenny buy him a bat in the lineup while we're at it gotta get those runs home all right hey there I'm Paula Pan I help people make the smartest money decisions possible do not ever worry about your salary you need enough to make sure that you aren't in a bad financial position once you have that your salary becomes moot what matters from that point forward upside gains any type of ownership stake or ownership potential that's the money remember you can afford anything just not everything afford anything follow and listen on your favorite platform full send golf you guys know how much I really really love golf and I think every week would be dope to folks on the golf channel I want to get a lot of guests on here so we'm gonna take leave I'm down to be in it it's not really work to play golf join the party on the golf course I was like let's go to the range so what are we putting on we said 10k right 10k all right we probably bet more than all the other golf channels right 10k 9 holes those guys bet for like cookies sorry I'm gonna shank it this guy's been trading like a Navy seal when it comes to golf very very excited yeah full send golf follow and listen on your favorite platform next role with Vernon Davis to transformative journeys of athletes artists and entrepreneurs ladies and gentlemen lights out Sean man I want to be the biggest and the best when I do and so whatever it takes I'll get it done in business and everything else all I do is know how to fight and earn what I want my man Malik asked what actor comedian what you want to collaborate with me Jamie Foxley Kevin hard in a movie we said it on Vernon Davis podcast and so we'll circle back be like yep it's gonna clear next role with Vernon Davis follow and listen on your favorite platform