Be warned the article is behind a paywall (I had a free 48 hour trial?). For those that don’t here’s a timeline.
Rundown:
-Sherman buys team and contacts city to address the stadium, no formal talks.
-2022, Royals engage in official talks with the county about a new stadium but they are just very early discussions. Conversations happen over the next several months
Fast forward to 2023
-Clay county releases a statement saying there in talks with Royals. White got upset at the Royals talking with Clay county and made that known via a letter to Sherman.
-Royals then present extremely vague finical terms to Jackson AND Clay county. Jackson county says they’re open to meeting more with the Royals but don’t really see the point without more details.
-Royals then release renderings for east village site and Clay county which pissed off white even more because he wanted the stadium east of troost.
-The county counters with a shorter lease, less money being put upfront, and a 50/50 split of revenue for naming rights, parking, concerts and every non baseball event. A CBA was also floated and Jackson County wanted the location of the stadium moved (Really pisses of Royals)
-The county counters again but this time pulls back some of its earlier requests but asks the Royals to look for more Private funding. County is still seeking more details. Royals decline the counter
- Insurance documents “leak”
-Royals agree to put in another 200 million and pay for insurances
-County counters the Royals offer by asking for more than what they initially wanted. (Teams pay for election, $5 parking fee, $3 county tax on all tickets sold)
-Royals walk away from the table
-Vote gets put on the ballot, White walks away from the table as well
-Election happens and the deal fails
-Shortly after the Royals contact mayor Lucas and the city planner cite White as the problem and begins negotiations with the city.
6 comments
Kansas City Court Jesters…still a clown show.
Another important thing to note is that the Royals never officially gave Jackson county an exact dollar amount for the stadium or who was paying for what. They gave them a rough estimate but nothing specific.
While both sides really messed up. You could argue that this was the biggest blunder.
unretire Franks number
So what you’re saying is now lucas and the city will gladly bend over since Jackson County wouldn’t even unbuckle their belt?
Jackson County is a poorly-run shitshow. I am embarrassed to have moved here, and wish I’d picked ANY other county in the metro. White and his cronies are not only bad at their jobs but they’re so full of themselves that they still think they’re the “good guys”. The assessments, the cyberattack, the stadiums, it’s absolute incompetency.
At least the people on the teams’ sides have to answer to somebody in their organization – I’m sure they’re getting reamed in private for how badly they botched this – but White and his dumbfuck cronies answer to us, and it’s up to us to ream them for their part too.
Thank the lord this is getting out.
White NEVER approached the table in good faith. (Sherman and the Royals OBVIOUSLY share their weight in the blame) But good god, how people just focused on “screw the billionaire” while letting Frank White get away with what he did was mind blowing.