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Chapter 1: What holiday events are happening at Advent Health Sports Park?
Celebrate the holidays at Advent Health Sports Park December 20th. Start your day with brunch and bowling with Santa at 10 a.m. Then hit the ice for skating with the Grinch at 2 p.m. Festive fun, photos, and family memories all in one magical day. Don't miss it at Advent Health Sports Park. Time to talk to the great Todd Lebo. He's back! Spain ain't got nothing on him. I'm back.
The Spaniard returns. I feel about right. Do you? Yeah. Didn't take me any time to just coming back. Going over there, I was sleeping during the day.
But coming back, I was like, no problem.
Chapter 2: What experiences did Todd Leabo have in downtown Kansas City?
It wasn't bad because you wake up early when you come back. And I needed to be up early anyway to be on Monday morning. So it was like. I was up. I had no alarm for me. I was up at 4.30. Okay, here we go. And then I was up early yesterday. Today I slept until 5.30. I went for a walk, you know, did my things. Been down to Crown Center. Yeah. First time in a while. Yeah.
Had lunch at Crown Center after the press conference. Okay. Stephen and Bethany and I went over there and enjoyed some Crown Center, Empanada Madness, and then walked around. There was some people sitting at the table next to us, and the guy was talking about the stadium thing, and he worked for Hallmark. And they had gotten an email this morning.
So the Royals employees all got an email this morning. And the Hallmark people all got an email this morning saying, here's the deal. They did a really nice job of not letting this part out.
By the way, real quick, Curtis. Yes? You ever gone to lunch with Lebo since we worked here? One time. One. It was to interview that guy. No, we've done breakfast to interview lots of guys. There was one other time.
We interviewed that guy. We interviewed Adam. Me and you? No, yeah, we went to Adam. We interviewed Adam over here at the first watch. Oh, yeah. And we interviewed Kyle at John's. That's it?
But just like, let's just go to lunch and have fun. Have we ever got a casual lunch? Well, you used to be on the air at lunch all the time. Not for seven years. One time. One lunch in seven years? You can't squeeze in with me and the big guy here? A little hole in the wall pie place.
Let's go to lunch. You guys go to lunch over here at a Schlotzky's and you never invite me.
Let's go now.
Why don't you invite me? Ever.
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Chapter 3: What details were shared about the new Royals stadium announcement?
It wasn't like you could just ask two questions in a row or anything like that. But that would be a great question for John Sherman or Don Hall. Like, when? You know, because he said right there, well, this is really Don came to me and said, you know, would you consider this?
Chapter 4: How will the new stadium impact the Kansas City community?
Because I think there's lots of reporting out there now about the... There's some tax code things about abatements ending, and it can be good for them. You know, I mean, I don't pretend to understand any of that stuff. Let me tell you something.
There's people who do. Nothing gets done by rich people unless it's good for rich people. And so you can't... They don't do things that suck for them. Now, John Sherman has given... A tremendous amount to this city.
And so is the Hall family. And so is the Hall family.
So we want those businesses thriving because then they continue to give things. So get your panties out of a bunch over that. But yeah, absolutely. I'm sure the Hall family and the Hall Corporation are going to benefit. from this, no doubt.
Yeah, whatever way it is. If it's getting out of this office space that they have and then it becomes something else and then they don't have to pay taxes under a certain rate, I don't know. Someone smart has got that part.
This is how it gets done. By the way, and it isn't the first time the Hall family would have got a tax abatement for it. I'm sure they got, the Crown Center sits there because I'm sure there were all kinds of.
Yeah, back when they built it.
That's how it gets done. That's how they built the Panasonic battery place.
Multiple generations of that. Yeah, they told the history that, you know, that area was blighted back in the 60s and they revitalized. They did. I mean, it's been it's been a place. And you know what? It needs a facelift now. Yeah, this will be good all around. Absolutely. So that was a good place to stop that.
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Chapter 5: What is the timeline for the Royals' new stadium construction?
Oh, I love watching a game outside. Well, in a screened-in porch.
Not all the way outside.
I'll go all the way outside.
Not all the way outside. I like the Bucs.
The bugs like you, don't you? I don't like the bugs.
My wife doesn't like the bugs. That's why I have a screened-in porch.
Because you're sweet, Todd. I am sweet. That's what we tell them. I'm going to get home and mow the grass today.
It's supposed to rain. It's time to mow the grass again.
We tell the kids, well, you're sweet.
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Chapter 6: What are the financial implications of the new stadium deal?
Now, that wasn't they weren't that serious about like but they there wasn't that long after that. They were investigating this and getting with the Jackson County legislature and all that stuff. But so think about how long that's been. And it's we got that much further before watching a baseball game in the stadium. But we're going to get to see it get built.
I think it's awesome to get to watch something get built. I was talking to some guys down there today, and I remember being at the press conference when they broke ground for Sprint Center, T-Mobile Center now, and it was just this blighted street corner, and they had the shovels, and they said, this is it, and not on this phone, because I don't think I had a...
a phone that took really good pictures back then. I think it had a photograph thing, but on some computer file, I have pictures of that day. And then to see what that has become is pretty cool. And so we will get to watch them tear this building down and then build a stadium. And I'm sure we'll get to go on some stadium tours and all that stuff. I think it's exciting.
OK. All right. Let's let's talk a little bit more about it. One of the gentlemen that was instrumental in putting it together. We spoke to him. This has been a week and a half ago, two weeks ago. The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Quentin Lucas, joins us here in the program. Mayor Lucas, how are you, sir?
You know what? It's a heck of a day for Kansas City. I'm pretty excited and hope the Royals get a W today. But regardless, it's a great time for KC.
Yeah, absolutely. And we now know where. Let's let's talk a little bit about the let's let's go ahead and take the victory lap because I do think it is a victory for Kansas City. And then we'll dive into maybe some of the questions that still remain to be answered after that. But just, you know. How big a sense of relief is it to know that you're going to keep the Royals in Kansas City, Missouri?
And I know the work's not done. There's still more to be done. But it's clear that all the major principals, the people who own the land where it's going, the ball clubs ownership, you, Kansas City, Missouri, representing Kansas City, Missouri, and the state of Kansas with the governor all in place, it seems like certainly we're well beyond just saying, well, where there's a will, there's a way.
Yeah, I mean, I think that what you have seen over recent months, and we haven't been able to talk about all of it, but frankly, exceptional work. First of all, between the Royals and Hallmark, I think this is transformative just from a business concept.
I mean, if you remove the Royals from the discussion, the fact that Hallmark, a global firm, a brand that everybody knows, is keeping its headquarters in downtown Kansas City is a big deal in and of itself. You add the Kansas City Royals on, you add to that the reimagining of Crown Center, which is a wonderful place, but it's been there for 50 plus years.
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Chapter 7: How will the stadium affect local businesses and revenue?
And I think that the proximity of the parking at Hallmark and Union Station, which is another 3,000, is going to make it all right.
Was that last one there for in case the governor is driving out of town to kind of hear that shot across the bow of the Cardinals?
You know, I can say it now since he's gone, but I know he's a Cardinals guy, but I think that pretty soon here we're going to have, I think, one of the best baseball fan experiences in the country. Obviously, you have legacy stadiums like Fenway and Wrigley. I've been blessed to be at both. Those are really cool experiences.
But when you look at what we are talking about building, this isn't just abandoning a tradition and building some cookie cutter. This is instead something that I think will be dynamic. It's interesting that isn't a part of the city that we have poured investment in. People know Union Station, World War One Museum, Liberty Memorial.
And I think Kansas citizens are going to grow to love it like they love everything else around there.
All right, Seren Petro-Talibo here. We're talking to Mayor Lucas, as the Royals have announced their new home.
So, Mayor Lucas, I asked you today who's going to own the stadium. It's the city or some sort of entity. And then we asked, Brooke Sherman said, used the word conveyance or whatever. They're going to buy this 15 acres, and do they give that to the city? What is that process to where the city owns it?
yeah you know i mean the technicality is that yeah the city will continue to own it is just the way we do sports stadiums in missouri as compared to some other spaces although i think the cheese steel is looking at the same structure that is because of taxes and all of that it's uh highly technical but in its simplest sense the city of kansas city or an agency will own the facility our plan at present is not to create anything like the jackson county sports complex authority or even the i think the new chiefs authority in kansas the city
already owns an arena at T-Mobile Center. We have a private operator. CPKC Stadium kind of has a similar relationship. That's home of the Kansas City Cardinals.
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Chapter 8: What are the next steps for the Royals and the city regarding the stadium?
Okay.
And I don't think it's all written in sign yet, but all overruns to the team, cost overruns or ā
The plan right now is all cost overruns to the team. I mean, you're absolutely right. It is not all signed and completed yet. That being said, yeah, I mean, our anticipation. And I'll say this about the Royals. This has been, I think, one of the fairer deals that I have seen in a while. I mean, you are catching a lot of teams. I'm friends with the mayor of Oklahoma City.
I'm friends with the governor of Kansas. I mean, I've talked to a lot of people about the deals that we have seen of late. And I think that what we have laid out in Kansas City, while I will never undervalue the investment of the taxpayers, that's important. It is key. But I think that, you know, if someone were to ask you, are we going to take into the cleaners?
Are we going to cover all cost overruns? Are we going to do all of that? The answer is no. The Royals have put a lot more into it than I think any of us probably imagined at the beginning. I think Crown Center, in their view, is a vehicle by which they can make great revenues long term. And I look forward to helping him do that.
All right. And then lastly, before I give you the final four, and that's phase one, phase two. We heard John Sherman talk about this being phase one. Phase one is the ballpark. And so is does phase one have to be completed before we start phase two? Or could we see phase one get going?
And then I assume phase two was all the ancillary stuff and any other ancillary construction that's going to go on around it. Could that get started before the ballpark is done?
The story of the phases is just how much debt can you take on. I think that if there are good financial models and the Missouri and Kansas City incentives are pretty front-ended, so you're able to work with some good investments from the jump, I think that both of those, the story is that, yes, you can get things moving.
And I hope that that means that we're seeing phase one and phase two accomplished quickly. I think this project is a lot more CPKC Stadium-esque. where you had a soccer stadium that opened, what, two seasons ago. And, of course, now you have a billion dollars of development pretty quickly.
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