photo by: City of Eudora | Submitted

An artist rendering of the STAR Bond District.

As Panasonic’s battery plant prepares to supercharge job growth along Kansas Highway 10, Eudora has a plan to electrify the area’s tourism scene, too: a 5,000-seat entertainment venue and a slew of new retail and dining options.

The proposed development, which would be just south of K-10 and could cost between $40 million and $50 million, is still early in the planning stages, Mayor Tim Reazin told the Journal-World — so early that it doesn’t even have a name yet. But he and other Eudora leaders have high hopes for this entertainment district project — they envision the entertainment venue hosting a variety of concerts and sporting events, and they say it could generate $5 million in annual revenue and attract half a million visitors a year.

The big question now is whether they can get the state to sign off on it.

Like many other major entertainment districts and tourism projects in Kansas — including the Kansas Speedway and the home stadium of the Sporting Kansas City soccer team — the Eudora project would rely heavily on Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bonds from the Kansas Department of Commerce. Eudora leaders have been in talks with state officials for a while to try to sort out the statutory requirements for STAR bonds, but a $21 million federal infrastructure grant the city recently received could make the process a bit smoother.

If everything goes according to plan, it will make Eudora even more attractive as the K-10 area grows, said Eudora’s city manager, Kevyn Gero. As the Journal-World has reported, Eudora and other nearby communities are expecting a big boost from the $4 billion Panasonic battery plant in De Soto, which is expected to employ 4,000 workers.

“Looking ahead, we see that Eudora is poised for growth, and our City Commission and staff are working diligently to work toward a vision of a proactive approach to growth along the K-10 corridor,” Gero said.

The early plans

As Reazin described it, the STAR bond district would be more than just a big sports and events venue — it would be a place for people to live, shop, dine and play.

The district would be situated just south of K-10, and preliminary plans call for retail stores; restaurants, including a pub and brewery; a health and fitness center; and a new hotel. Above the retail spaces, on the top floors of the buildings, would be 300 above-store apartment units.

Those businesses and residences would line the way to the heart of the project — the approximately 5,000-seat sports and entertainment venue. Reazin envisions an array of different types of programming, such as concerts, theater productions, indoor sports tournaments and mixed martial arts events.

Also present in the district would be a recreation center and park, which tie into one of the planners’ goals — creating something that isn’t just an attraction for out-of-towners.

“The city is working to scale the project to be both a community asset and a regional destination with amenities to attract visitors and maintain the character of Eudora and the surrounding area,” Gero said.

photo by: City of Eudora | Submitted

A nighttime rendering of the STAR Bond District.

The finances

According to the Eudora city website, the project wouldn’t increase residents’ property taxes. That would be because of the STAR bonds the city is seeking to secure.

STAR bonds, a program from the Kansas Department of Commerce, are used around the state to aid in the development of entertainment districts and tourist destinations. The bonds are used to help build sports and entertainment venues, museums and many other kinds of attractions, and then they’re paid back through revenue derived from the project and its associated retail development.

Right now, the city’s discussions with the state are still ongoing. Gero said that the Department of Commerce has helped coordinate the city’s efforts by aligning them with its vision of attracting higher levels of tourism.

“We are learning how our project can support the state’s efforts to attract out-of-state visitors related to sports and entertainment tourism,” she said, while also meeting the region’s growth demands.

Prospects for the project recently brightened, Gero said, after the city was awarded a $21 million grant from the federal program known as RAISE, or Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity. That grant will help Eudora redesign Church Street and expand 20th Street, and a separate grant will be used to build a pedestrian crossing or shared-use path over K-10.

Gero said the importance of the grant funding for infrastructure improvements cannot be overstated.

“Those funds will significantly impact the city and this economic development initiative,” she said.

Reazin agreed that the grant money would play a pivotal role in the planning of the STAR bond district.

“The grant is going to help us with the promotion of the STAR bond district,” Reazin said, adding that tying the two projects together is the most efficient use of those resources. “It helps us fix a problem we already had — while getting us closer to what we need for the STAR bond district.”

Besides securing the necessary funding, the city would also need to secure the land that the new development would sit on.

“The next step is annexing the land,” Reazin said. He noted that a feasibility study for the project had been conducted and forwarded to the state for review, and that “we hope they tell us that they’re ready to move to the next phase,” and that “we have to have control over the land before we can start with anything.”

Reazin hopes more headway will be made when city officials meet with Lt. Gov. David Toland on July 17, with the feasibility study a likely topic of discussion. Reazin added that previous talks with the Department of Commerce’s Office of Tourism centered on plans for the new hotel, which would be adjacent to the entertainment venue.

“They suggested that we build a bigger hotel than what we had initially talked about,” Reazin said, adding that the close proximity of the Panasonic battery plant was broached as a reason for a larger hotel.

A few other key pieces are already in place or getting there. Among them is an operator for the sports tourism component — Virginia-based Eastern Sports Management has entered an agreement to maintain the venue. The city has also worked with an area promoter on the concert aspect of the plan, and Florida-based Vieste LLC is helping the city navigate the planning stages of the project.

As talks move forward, Reazin is predicting that the project will ultimately be infused with the needed STAR bonds.

“There is stuff in the works that leads me down the path that this (plan) is working,” he said. “We’ve never had a ‘no’ from Commerce, so for me, that’s a reason to be pretty optimistic.”

Tax base diversification

Reazin said the project, if it goes forward, will also enable the city to diversify its tax base. He said that Eudora is “kind of tired” of hemorrhaging retail tax revenue to Lawrence, Johnson County and other Kansas City-area communities in general.

“It’s diversifying, but we also want to make sure the retailers we bring in are beneficial to the community,” he said.

Reazin called the project a “bigger-picture vision” that will help make Eudora a better and more prosperous community. He said that more local offerings would result in less travel to surrounding areas and more time spent at home with family.

“The time at home with my family makes it a better household — which probably makes me a better neighbor, which makes for a better neighborhood,” he said. “And better neighborhoods make better communities.”

Official naming of the facility is another topic of discussion, as the “STAR bond district” reference is a loosely used temporary placeholder. Reazin said officials are in search of a catchy name, mentioning “K-10 Crossing” or something that incorporates the Kaw River as possibilities.

“We’re going to work with our historical society to help us with the naming of it,” he said. “We want something that fits us — fits the community.”

Despite the staggering scope of the project and potential for urban sprawl from the De Soto-based Panasonic plant, Reazin said that it’s important that Eudora maintain the idea that it is still a small-town community.

Reazin also added that there has been pushback from some naysayers “who have questions.”

“I don’t think they have a full grasp of what it means, what the STAR bond district can do for us,” he said. “I think they want to see their taxes be more manageable, and that’s what we’re working toward — to make sure we don’t have to (raise taxes) to where they cannot afford to live here.”