New soccer stadium gets assist from Kansas taxpayers

Reading all the glowing articles this morning about the new $200 million state-of-the-art soccer stadium in Kansas City, Kan. that opens tonight got me to wondering, “Isn’t the state of Kansas — read Kansas taxpayers — involved in this project?'”

The answer is yes.

In 2010, Gov. Mark Parkinson’s administration hammered out a deal to help finance the stadium and a new office complex for Cerner Corp. Under the deal, the project would be subsidized with $85 million in state tax credits and $144.5 million in STAR Bond assistance. STAR Bonds allow developers to finance major commercial, entertainment and tourism areas and use the sales tax revenue generated by the development to pay off the bonds.

The use of STAR Bonds has many critics who generally contend this is an unnecessary subsidy of big business, puts other businesses at a disadvantage and shorts distressed state coffers at a time when the state is struggling to pay for basics, such as public safety, social services and education.

But as he was leaving office, Parkinson said the project was one of the highlights of his tenure as governor. He defended the use of STAR Bonds, saying the project would create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact.

So, while the players are sitting tonight in the plush locker rooms on $5,000 seats imported from Spain, and fans watch the action or replays on 330 high definition televisions or connect on the more than 150 WIFI access points, it might occur to someone to say `Thanks’ to the Kansas taxpayer.

New soccer stadium gets assist from Kansas taxpayers

Reading all the glowing articles this morning about the new $200 million state-of-the-art soccer stadium in Kansas City, Kan. that opens tonight got me to wondering, “Isn’t the state of Kansas — read Kansas taxpayers — involved in this project?'”

The answer is yes.

In 2010, Gov. Mark Parkinson’s administration hammered out a deal to help finance the stadium and a new office complex for Cerner Corp. Under the deal, the project would be subsidized with $85 million in state tax credits and $144.5 million in STAR Bond assistance. STAR Bonds allow developers to finance major commercial, entertainment and tourism areas and use the sales tax revenue generated by the development to pay off the bonds.

The use of STAR Bonds has many critics who generally contend this is an unnecessary subsidy of big business, puts other businesses at a disadvantage and shorts distressed state coffers at a time when the state is struggling to pay for basics, such as public safety, social services and education.

But as he was leaving office, Parkinson said the project was one of the highlights of his tenure as governor. He defended the use of STAR Bonds, saying the project would create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact.

So, while the players are sitting tonight in the plush locker rooms on $5,000 seats imported from Spain, and fans watch the action or replays on 330 high definition televisions or connect on the more than 150 WIFI access points, it might occur to someone to say `Thanks’ to the Kansas taxpayer.