Crossroads businesses left wondering what’s next after failed stadium sales tax vote
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Development of a downtown baseball stadium is now on hold as voters Tuesday shot down an extension of the sales tax in Jackson County.
Opposition to the Crossroads downtown baseball site selected by the Kansas City Royals helped lead to its landslide defeat. But not all Crossroads interests opposed the plan.
“I knew it would be close and I knew it may not pass. I was shocked at the margin,” said Butch Rigby.
He’s the owner of Screenland Real Estate and has owned property in the Crossroads area for 30 years.
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He supported a “yes” vote on Tuesday’s sales tax extension vote.
“I came around to believing in the Crossroads location. I was a supporter of the east village [location], but I understood that all my small tenant businesses would be benefiting from this,” he said.
He’s not the only owner of properties in the Crossroads who was supporting the “yes” vote.
Matt Abbott, co-owner of Abbott Properties, told FOX4 that he was disappointed that there was such divisiveness over the vote.
“I actually saw the baseball stadium as one of the most important developments in downtown’s history,” Abbott said. “And I saw the possibility of the baseball stadium really creating this core energy that had this ripple effect that helped develop midtown, that helped build up the 18th and Vine District.”
Both investors said that emotions played a factor in Tuesday’s outcome.
“Quite frankly I think it caught people off guard. And when you catch people off guard and there’s change, it creates fear,” Abbott said. “I think that the emotions of being in the Crossroads and what the team might do to the crossroads got in the way of a reasonable request for a public private partnership,” Rigby said.
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FOX4 asked each investor what they would change about the Royals proposal if the tax were to appear on the ballot in Jackson County again.
“For the ownership to step back, for us to really listen and put a plan to collaborate as a community,” Abbott said. “To solve problems, to work together instead of just working against each other.”
Rigby specifically mentioned having a better parking plan and a more defined plan for business relocation in the area.
“These are the things they can do to make the community feel more comfortable. We’re lucky to have two major league teams in a market this size and we should continue to support that in a public-private partnership,” he said.
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It’s unclear if the teams will pursue another vote of the sales tax in Jackson County. The lease at the Truman Sports Complex is set to expire in 2031.
