Bungled is the word that came to mind for me too. Chiefs have to be kicking themselves for doing Sherman a favor and touching their wagon to his initiative.
Johnson Co probably will give the Royals what they want. I kinda hope Sherman DIYs the East Crossroads location though. Like maybe he's really committed to the idea of downtown baseball in KC.
That 670 park and stadium/arena would have been a great centerpiece for the city but it did look kinda phallic from the air.
Reams of data and studies show dubious economic impact of stadiums etc. Simply rearranging overall area spending. How about the public funders get a % of the increased value of the franchise when it’s sold to the next billionaire who wants into the club. You know that good old capitalist idea of real return on investment?!!
Thanks for your extremely cogent analysis of the election debacle. Sherman and Co. are squarely to blame for putting together a half-baked idea that most people hate.
To me, i didn't like the spin of everything. Seemed very deceitful. "It's not a new tax."...Well, yeah, it's an extension of an existing tax but more money out of my pocket at the end of this thing. "There's concrete cancer or ASR"...I'm a structural & bridge engineer and I'm hesitant to buy into this until i see it for myself (which i've not seen on my many trips to the K), or a report is published from a credible source documenting the issues. As you noted Craig, why The K and not Arrowhead? The renderings with the deck park over I-670...as a bridge engineer, I know the current plans for the deck park stop at Grand but the renderings show the deck park all the way up proposed new stadium. More spin to help their cause. "Keep the team in Jackson County" they said. Feels like fear mongering that a no vote will ensure Jackson county looses the Royals and perhaps encouraging the less informed to jump to the conclusion of Royals leaving KC Metro all together.
The bungled (bundled) stadium proposal. Too bad the Chiefs were sucked into this folly. The Chiefs recent success didn’t translate in the final vote total. I believe the downtown stadium would have been defeated by an even larger margin if not for the Chiefs involvement. Unfortunately the two teams are literally tied together when it comes to resolving their future. Solution: Replicate a future Truman Sports Complex on the state line and bring in Missouri/Kansas to equally fund. The state line could run down the 50-yard line of the new Arrowhead bisecting home plate in the new Kauffman to dead center field. Both states could do a 50/50 split on the revenue. Problem solved!!
Whatever comes next should start with a genuine mea culpa from Sherman, and he could do far worse than have that sit-down with you.
You nailed it from the jump. He let one band of consultants convince him that he could capitalize on his stadium traffic to make an extra billion from an entertainment district that he could sell off in a decade, at which time he'd have his bait back from buying the team. Hooyah, sign me up.
Then he let another bunch of consultants convince him that in order to use other people's money (and experience) to get that district built, he had to engineer the impression of competition from other localities. Sure, NKC is still KC, why not move just across the river!
When that turned out to be a mirage, and with time running out, he cobbled together what yet another cabal of (political) consultants said was a placeholder that'd be good enough as long as he stayed joined at the hip with the 2x Super Bowl Champs. He assented to hiring one of the worst demagogues in US politics, who, to the shock of no one, pivoted to messaging so civically repugnant Sherman publicly disavowed it before the vote.
He let this entire horde of consultants convince him he was in an entirely different business - real estate - than the one he signed up for (baseball), and he's paid a price that will be hard to recoup.
If I were a consultant of any sort, I'd stay far away from John Sherman for a minute. Of course, they'll be lined up around the corner as I write this.
Great analysis on the election, Craig (and on the actual baseball, of course). Instead of taking the time to create a coherent plan that showed they cared about both the past and the future of the organization, the Royals gave voters a constantly changing plan with renderings of Generic Baseball Park that could be in any city. And the Chiefs...VIP this, VIP that. I can't believe people weren't lining up to support these ideas.
Just mind blowing incompetence from the jump. I still think the Royals are most likely to stay in KC and that their next ballot measure will pass. But it will be with, as you noted, some concrete details and hopefully a much better CBA
Yay Royals! Boo Sherman. So many head scratchers from the campaign, it makes me wonder if they want to have an excuse to move (at least over the line). Congrats to the people of Jackson County for making their voices heard with such a large turnout.
Bungled is the word that came to mind for me too. Chiefs have to be kicking themselves for doing Sherman a favor and touching their wagon to his initiative.
Johnson Co probably will give the Royals what they want. I kinda hope Sherman DIYs the East Crossroads location though. Like maybe he's really committed to the idea of downtown baseball in KC.
That 670 park and stadium/arena would have been a great centerpiece for the city but it did look kinda phallic from the air.
Reams of data and studies show dubious economic impact of stadiums etc. Simply rearranging overall area spending. How about the public funders get a % of the increased value of the franchise when it’s sold to the next billionaire who wants into the club. You know that good old capitalist idea of real return on investment?!!
Marsh was fantastic! Assuming good health, we should not see Mr Lyles as a starter now. Big upgrade!
Thanks for your extremely cogent analysis of the election debacle. Sherman and Co. are squarely to blame for putting together a half-baked idea that most people hate.
To me, i didn't like the spin of everything. Seemed very deceitful. "It's not a new tax."...Well, yeah, it's an extension of an existing tax but more money out of my pocket at the end of this thing. "There's concrete cancer or ASR"...I'm a structural & bridge engineer and I'm hesitant to buy into this until i see it for myself (which i've not seen on my many trips to the K), or a report is published from a credible source documenting the issues. As you noted Craig, why The K and not Arrowhead? The renderings with the deck park over I-670...as a bridge engineer, I know the current plans for the deck park stop at Grand but the renderings show the deck park all the way up proposed new stadium. More spin to help their cause. "Keep the team in Jackson County" they said. Feels like fear mongering that a no vote will ensure Jackson county looses the Royals and perhaps encouraging the less informed to jump to the conclusion of Royals leaving KC Metro all together.
The bungled (bundled) stadium proposal. Too bad the Chiefs were sucked into this folly. The Chiefs recent success didn’t translate in the final vote total. I believe the downtown stadium would have been defeated by an even larger margin if not for the Chiefs involvement. Unfortunately the two teams are literally tied together when it comes to resolving their future. Solution: Replicate a future Truman Sports Complex on the state line and bring in Missouri/Kansas to equally fund. The state line could run down the 50-yard line of the new Arrowhead bisecting home plate in the new Kauffman to dead center field. Both states could do a 50/50 split on the revenue. Problem solved!!
Whatever comes next should start with a genuine mea culpa from Sherman, and he could do far worse than have that sit-down with you.
You nailed it from the jump. He let one band of consultants convince him that he could capitalize on his stadium traffic to make an extra billion from an entertainment district that he could sell off in a decade, at which time he'd have his bait back from buying the team. Hooyah, sign me up.
Then he let another bunch of consultants convince him that in order to use other people's money (and experience) to get that district built, he had to engineer the impression of competition from other localities. Sure, NKC is still KC, why not move just across the river!
When that turned out to be a mirage, and with time running out, he cobbled together what yet another cabal of (political) consultants said was a placeholder that'd be good enough as long as he stayed joined at the hip with the 2x Super Bowl Champs. He assented to hiring one of the worst demagogues in US politics, who, to the shock of no one, pivoted to messaging so civically repugnant Sherman publicly disavowed it before the vote.
He let this entire horde of consultants convince him he was in an entirely different business - real estate - than the one he signed up for (baseball), and he's paid a price that will be hard to recoup.
If I were a consultant of any sort, I'd stay far away from John Sherman for a minute. Of course, they'll be lined up around the corner as I write this.
Great analysis on the election, Craig (and on the actual baseball, of course). Instead of taking the time to create a coherent plan that showed they cared about both the past and the future of the organization, the Royals gave voters a constantly changing plan with renderings of Generic Baseball Park that could be in any city. And the Chiefs...VIP this, VIP that. I can't believe people weren't lining up to support these ideas.
Just mind blowing incompetence from the jump. I still think the Royals are most likely to stay in KC and that their next ballot measure will pass. But it will be with, as you noted, some concrete details and hopefully a much better CBA
Yay Royals! Boo Sherman. So many head scratchers from the campaign, it makes me wonder if they want to have an excuse to move (at least over the line). Congrats to the people of Jackson County for making their voices heard with such a large turnout.