CBA’s preview what Kansas City and Royals could create
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — While Royals fans and all of Kansas City wait for more information about where a new Royals ballpark will finally go, the team is hinting at what could be in the Community Benefits Agreement it’ll create to build the project.
This week, the Royals posted a graphic on social media saying:
“The Kansas City Royals’ commitment to a strong CBA is and always has been unwavering.
“The history of both the Royals and our ownership group are focused on positive community impacts with a particular emphasis on underserved communities. We have studied successful CBAs both locally (including the new airport terminal) and nationally (including the Milwaukee Bucks, Tampa Bay Rays, and Buffalo Bills) and expect to include many of those elements.
Clay County leader sheds light on Royals’ stadium decision
“With our commitment to Jackson County made clear last week, we will engage with community leaders and organizations to solidify a transformative CBA that will strengthen our hometown.”
Those other CBAs could give the metro a preview of what to expect in the deal the Royals promise to reach.
“The important thing is going to be when we see what the CBA looks like is what the details are,” said Park University Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Matthew Harris. “What’s the accountability, who’s making the decisions.”
That’s why he says the devil can be in the details.
“The teams are asking for a huge amount of public money and the benefits of stadiums, the research shows maybe there’s not that much of a benefit,” said Harris. “But you know there’s some city somewhere else, like what happened with the Raiders, there’s always going to be some city that’s willing to give the money.”
The Milwaukee Bucks’s CBA promised an eventual $15 minimum wage for workers while preserving their right to unionize, and promising to hire from zip codes with low employment.
The Tampa Bay Rays are working through their CBA right now, but it could come with billions of dollars of investment in an 86-acre development that will bring affordable house, retail, office space, a hotel, and a Black history museum.
Pre-treatment, staffing help quickly clear KC roads after winter storm
The Buffalo Bills’ CBA is getting criticized for its pledge to give $3 million to unspecified community projects over 30 years in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in public money with what critics say is limited oversight and accountability for where that money will go.
“One of their arguments [in Buffalo] is, ‘Well, we don’t know what the needs of the community are going to be over these 40 years so we want there to be flexibility,” said Harris.
Groups like Stand Up KC and organizers like Terrence Wise have bene pushing for a CBA since long before the stadium locations were narrowed down.
“If you’re not on the table, you’re on the menu,” said Wise.
Just before the Jackson County Legislature voted to put a stadium sales tax extension on the April ballot, Wise told FOX4 his group got assurances that they’d be involved in the CBA conversations that will happen soon.
“We received confirmation from the Royals and Chiefs that our coalition will have a seat at the table to negotiate what this Community Benefits Agreement is all about,” Wise said.
That was enough for Stand Up KC to back the sales tax and encourage County Executive Frank White to support it, too.
After publishing this story, Stand Up KC told FOX4 that Wise misspoke for the organization and that “Stand Up KC / Missouri Workers Center is neutral on the sales tax.”
“I see an exciting opportunity with a downtown venue,” Wise said.
