Olathe — Calling the community a perfect setting for its new emphasis on character development in sports, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has decided to make Olathe its third home in eight years.
And this time, NAIA president and CEO Steve Baker said Thursday in announcing the selection, the organization means to stay put.
Nineteen cities including Tulsa, Okla., the NAIA's home since 1993 submitted proposals after the league announced last summer that it was looking to move. The league's council of presidents on Wednesday chose Olathe over the other two finalists, Fort Wayne, Ind., and the St. Louis suburb of O'Fallon, Mo.
The move to Olathe will put the league about 30 miles from downtown Kansas City, Mo., which had been the home of its Division I men's basketball tournament since 1937 and of the NAIA itself since the headquarters was moved from Los Angeles in 1957.
Business and political leaders in Kansas City were stunned in 1992 when the NAIA announced it would pull up stakes the following year for Tulsa, taking the basketball tournament with it. But Tulsa never produced the support in terms of fans and financial support the league had hoped for, Baker said.
In Olathe, a city of 95,000 people on the southwest edge of the Kansas City metropolitan area, the NAIA found the combination of assets it was seeking chiefly a commitment to the "Champions of Character" initiative launched last October for the league's 330 member colleges.
"While there were other communities that would have served the NAIA well, Olathe showed incredible promise as a partner in advancing our character initiative among NAIA institutions and their respective communities," Baker said at a news conference at MidAmerica Nazarene University.
"Olathe is more in tune with the needs of our organization and committed to education and character development," he said.
The city already had a character council in place and belongs to an association of 93 communities known as "Cities of Character." Character development is emphasized in the local schools.
But Olathe's political and business leaders also offered financial incentives attractive to the NAIA, which plans to eventually hold at least three championship tournaments a year in the city.
Honeywell Corp. has offered temporary office quarters, valued at $16,500 a month according to the city's bid proposal, for the NAIA's 23 staff members when they transfer from Tulsa this summer.
For the league's new office building and adjacent Character Center, a developer has offered a six-acre site at Olathe's Cedar Creek at a $1 million discount.
In addition, the Olathe City Council this week committed $1 million over 10 years, to be raised by increasing the hotel tax to 6 percent from the current 4 percent. And the Olathe Chamber of Commerce will assist in a capital campaign that aims to raise $5.2 million from private sources.
Separately, the city has also been working on plans for a sports facility that would meet the NAIA's need for an arena big enough for its Division I basketball tournament. The NAIA's planned interactive sports museum and Hall of Fame could be built nearby, Baker said.
Baker declined Thursday to disclose the incentives offered by Fort Wayne and O'Fallon.
Given the NAIA's startling 1993 departure from the area, Baker who joined the NAIA in Tulsa said he understood why some in greater Kansas City questioned the league's commitment to the area this time.
But he noted that after decades of working out of leased quarters, the NAIA was preparing to settle down in its own buildings and "put down deep roots." And, he said, the league has already entered into partnerships with the city, its business community and regional sports authorities.
"I know there's been some history that could lead people to think otherwise," Baker said. "I can't fathom having making that kind of commitment and then walking away."
G. Blair Dowden, president of Indiana's Huntington College and chairman of the council of presidents, said Olathe satisfied all the requirements the NAIA was looking for in a new home. Those included easy access to an international airport, proximity to member schools, hotel space and plans for an arena for the Division I basketball tournament.
An economic study conducted on the chamber's behalf found that after construction, the NAIA would increase local industrial output by $9.8 million, add 111 jobs and increase household earnings in the area by $3.3 million in its first year.
Chamber of Commerce President Frank Taylor said landing the NAIA would be a big boost for the city's image.
"I think it gives us some real visibility nationally," Taylor said.
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