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Mizzou’s wandering eye screws KC

William Rockhill Nelson — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 02:47:09 +0000

If the Big 12 conference dissolves as it seems to be doing, Kansas City can probably say good-bye to conference tournaments and a big chunk of the revenue paying of the Sprint Center loans. MU and KU will likely end up in either eastern or western conferences that are centered far from KC, and so it’s doubtful we’ll ever host a college basketball tournament or football championship again. Perhaps the only silver lining is that the loss of college sports will remove the biggest justification for a dubiously subsidized conference hotel.

It all started with Mizzou’s and Governor Jay Nixon’s very public flirtation with the Big 10 conference and its higher academic and athletic reputations. Some say the Big 10 was coveted by the eastern-looking St. Louisans who fund Governor Nixon, and so once again Jay has screwed the state’s largest city.

And even Gary Forsee is back to screwing Kansas City. The UM System President and former Sprint/Nextel CEO is bad at mergers and acquisitions, and now the rest of Missouri is learning what we’ve known in KC for quite some time. So don’t look for any Big 10 banners near his Dunford Circle home anytime soon.

Carl Peterson’s penthouse for sale, includes great neighbors

William Rockhill Nelson — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:33:28 +0000

Former Chief’s General Manager Carl Peterson may be long gone from river city, but his Country Club Plaza penthouse was just listed for sale for a cool $4.25 million. The 4800 square foot pad features three bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a 1000 square foot terrace, and super high-end finishes.

The building at 433 Ward Parkway is quite the party pad. The adjacent penthouse belongs to Annette Bloch, widow of H&R Block co-founder of Richard Bloch. Other tenants include developer Robert Esrey, philanthropist Beth Smith, Central Exchange president Ellen D’Amato, former H&R Block CEO Frank Salizzoni, and other assorted business and society types. Former Chief’s head coach Herm Edwards still owns a condo there as well.

433 Ward sits on the south bank of Brush Creek, next door to the Intercontinental Hotel and directly opposite the Granfalloon and Baja 600. Unit 7-W is the most expensive property currently for sale in the city limits, and third in the metro area behind the $6.7 million Mission Hills home of former Marion Labs CEO Fred Lyons and the $4.7 million Lee’s Summit house of developer David Burkart. Taxes on Peterson’s pad are about $18,000 a year, as it’s one of the few condo projects without a TIF or abatement.

Study says KC can’t support the sports teams already here

William Rockhill Nelson — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:50:09 +0000

A new national study says Kansas City is among the major league sports markets that are over extended in terms of capacity to support teams. The metro’s personal income is more than $50 billion short of what we need to support the Chiefs, Royals, and Wizards – a situation that isn’t helping efforts to attract the NBA or NHL to the Sprint Center or finance a soccer stadium for the Wizards. The study identifies other cities that are ripe for expansion or relocation for the NBA/NHL: Tulsa, Los Angeles, Houston, Las Vegas, Austin.

Business Journal: Kansas City saturated with professional sports.

Portfolio.com: A Sporting Chance.

Silver lining in loss of Wizards soccer stadium?

William Rockhill Nelson — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:40:05 +0000

The Pitch’s David Martin has an excellent article behind the scenes of the Wizards stadium loss to KCK and earlier efforts to redevelop Bannister Mall. The story mentions a transit-oriented, neo-traditional, mixed-use neighborhood proposal that the city passed over in favor of the high-risk, suburban-style stadium/strip mall/office park combination. If that opportunity had been seized, the site might already be home to a real neighborhood of homes, shops, restaurants, offices, parks, etc.

Perhaps the loss of the stadium has a silver lining. The city couldn’t really afford it. It would have combined the riskiest financial aspects of the Power & Light District and Citadel Plaza schemes. Besides, the original neighborhood plan probably has more long term benefits for southern Kansas City anyway. So the question now becomes twofold – will the city be willing to revisit their plan and raise the bar, and can developers still be found during this Great Recession?

Pitch: The tragic story of how Kansas City leaders, blinded by the Wizards’ pro-sports glamour project, turned their backs on an idea that might actually have saved Bannister Mall

Wizards to KCK – real option or bargaining chip?

William Rockhill Nelson — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:26:54 +0000

This week comes news that the Kansas City Wizards football soccer team has been secretly negotiating for an alternative stadium site at Village West in KCK, in lieu of the planned Three Trails stadium/retail/office development at the old Bannister Mall site.

Everyone thought the Three Trails project was a done deal until the economy tanked and killed the retail and office markets that the deal depended on. So then the team came back and asked for millions in cash advance and for the city to guarantee the bonds with its credit – basically combining the worst parts of the Power & Light District and Citadel Plaza deals.

So now one could wonder if this KCK stadium is the real deal or just a ploy to force KCMO into granting the cash advance and credit guarantee. It seems eerily familiar to the Chiefs’ brief flirtation with a KCK stadium when it looked like Jackson County was hesitating to put a stadium tax renewal on the ballot – which they promptly did after the KCK option surfaced.

Tony’s Kansas City has a round up of coverage from multiple sources.

Disc Golf world championships in town this week

William Rockhill Nelson — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:13:24 +0000

This week the KC region is hosting the world championships of disc golf. Over 900 people from around the world are in town competing at disc golf courses all over the region. Check out www.kcworlds.com for details.

KC trades Greinke to St. Louis…

William Rockhill Nelson — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:57:12 +0000

…In exhange for public transit funding! Gone Mild has the scoop.

“Angry fans reacted to the loss of Zack Greinke, who is considered to be THE bright spot on the Royals roster. “It’s not the lack of public transportation that keeps the fans away – it’s the fact that the K is not downtown,” one disappointed fan claimed.”

Senators McCaskill and Dodd wager on Mizzou-UConn game via Twitter

William Rockhill Nelson — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:29:10 +0000

Last night Senators Claire McCaskill and Chris Dodd arranged a bet on the Missouri-Connecticut basketball game via Twitter. At stake is pizza from New Haven and barbeque from KC’s own Arthur Bryant’s.

Dodd: “@clairecmc How about a friendly wager on tomorrow’s Elite Eight game between my Huskies and your Tigers?”

Dodd: “@clairecmc I’ll put up some New Haven apizza for you and your staff that UConn comes out on top.”

McCaskill: “@SenChrisDodd You’re on. Happy to supply Arthur Bryant’s BBQ to your office if UConn manages a win. Get ready for 40 min of chaos! M I Z!“

Dodd: “@clairecmc It’s a deal. GO HUSKIES!!“

What’s next? Trading votes in Congress? Actually, moving legislative wrangling to Twitter would be a great thing for transparency.

KC: Always a bridesmaid, never a bride

William Rockhill Nelson — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:08:15 +0000

Like the Sonics and Predators before them, the New York Islanders are the latest NHL/NBA team to use KC’s new Sprint Center arena as a bargaining chip to get a better deal back at home. We all know how this is likely to end, yet the Star continues to breathlessly push the story.

Big 12 Championship Weekend

William Rockhill Nelson — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:10:19 +0000

The Tigers return to Arrowhead just a week after the Border War game for the Big 12 Championship game against Oklahoma. Whether you have tickets or not, here’s the scoop for the weekend’s activities…

Friday night pre-party and concert
Vertical Horizon plays a free concert Downtown in the Power & Light District at 8:00 p.m.

Stadium shuttle buses
$10 gets you to Arrowhead stress-free from most Downtown, Westport, and, Plaza hotels. More info.

Saturday Tailgate Party in Westport
Activities and such from Noon to 6:00 p.m. followed by general merriment in Westport establishments. More info.