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Clay County says no April vote on tax for new Kansas City Royals stadium
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- Clay County says no April vote on tax for new Kansas City Royals stadium
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The day after the Kansas City Royals announced that it would no longer be considering the Aspiria Campus in Overland Park as a potential stadium site, the Clay County Commission announced that voters will not see a measure for any stadium-related tax on the April ballot.
In a public statement Wednesday morning, the Office of the Clay County Commission said that over the last three years, its commissioners had discussed with the team a potential Royals stadium relocation in the county.
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Three designated commissioners — Jay Johnson, Jon Carpenter, and Scott Wagner — reportedly presented a "competitive" proposal, "designed to support a successful Royals franchise in Clay County alongside a complementary dining and entertainment district, while also protecting the financial interest of Clay County taxpayers."
Kansas City Royals no longer considering Aspiria Campus stadium at 119th, Nall
"I just don't like feeling like we've been used, right?" Commissioner Jason Withington said on Wednesday.
"I feel like this whole time that Clay County has been used as leverage, right?"
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The Royals showed off what a ballpark in North Kansas City could look like back in August of 2023. At that time, it was one of two finalists to be the Royals' new home. Then, in February of 2024, the team announced they wanted to move to a location downtown that wasn't one of their finalists the previous summer. The vote that was attached to a Chiefs' renovation at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium failed by 16% then.
Earlier this year, the commission gave the team a Jan. 8 deadline to accept or deny the proposal, affording the county enough time to finalize the plans and place the proposal on the April ballot. However, the team did not accept within the timeframe.
As a result, the Clay County Commission said the stadium proposal will not be placed on the April ballot for public vote.
"Clay County residents can be confident that their Commission will always negotiate with their best interests as the top priority," the commission said, adding that it will not take part in bidding competitions with other jurisdictions.
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"Our focus remains on achieving fair, responsible, and mutually beneficial agreements for our residents and for any businesses seeking to invest in Clay County."
"If they wanted to, they would be here," Withington said about the North Kansas City site.
He believes his colleagues have negotiated in good faith over the last three years.
"We as the county have met every single deadline the Royals have put before us over 36 months," he continued.
"If they wanted to be here, they would be here."
The Royals wouldn't comment on Wednesday. FOX4 interviewed another person that day.
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"Everything's open because nothing's happened yet," Chappell's Restaurant and Sports Museum Founder Jim Chappell said in an interview on Wednesday.
Chappell, a Clay County resident, is actually still optimistic that the Royals could build in the city where the restaurant he founded is in.
"It is not their first choice, but I think it can come here because they can't go anywhere else," he said.
"How's that?"
There's still no word on where the Royals will be playing their home games in 2031.
FOX4 is continuing follow developments with this story, and will update
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