Flashback Thursday, Part 2

Our second group of pick ups out of the clutter pile are these beauties on funding stadium improvements. This first plays on fears that if the tax is defeated, the teams will leave. This goes right to the heart of Kansas City's occasional bout with an inferiority complex.

The 3/8 cent sales tax was paired with a vote on the construction of a rolling roof.

In this second piece, the heartstrings are pulled as well as the pursestrings. Players and mascots are pictured around town doing good deeds. (Ah, Tony G., we miss you...but you got out in the nick of time...oops, sorry. Squirrel moment.)

Who is not going to vote yes in the face of big Eric Hicks holding a cute toddler?

Here comes the big guns--a foldout flyer with four panels describing the plans for the rolling roof in detail. I would say that most people were highly skeptical of the rolling roof's practicality.

Frankly, it was just a whole lot of money to spend on something that isn't an essential service.

When I found these, especially this last one full of architect's drawings, and looked them over, I did ask myself if it would have been worth it. My answer is no at this point. There would have been benefits, but we would absolutely be in debt up to our eyeballs. Considering what the economy has done (or not done), I would say less debt is better.

While we want to be the best city we can be, it may be better to propose different ways to finance the fixing of the water and sewer system besides on the backs of paying customers rather than pie-in-the-sky development schemes.

In the end, the voting citizens of Kansas City approved the 3/8th cent sales tax for renovations to Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums, but declined the opportunity to place a rolling roof over the sports complex. The vote was a contentious one as I recall, with a healthy group of people wanting to replace Kauffman rather then renovating it, with a stadium in the downtown area. What do you think? Was our money well spent in refreshing our then 34 year old sports complex? Did we miss something by not doing the rolling roof thing?

I have to note here that the 2012 baseball all-star game is coming to KC despite the lack of a roof. Think of these things when the down town hotel proposals start rolling in.