Stadium woes

March 28, 2006

In the news again is a vote about renovating the stadiums here in Kansas City. I’ve been living with this crap my whole life, being from St. Louis and all the stadium BS that has gone on there. Now here in KC, they want to spend 700 million or more on a stadium overhaul which will mostly be paid by Missouri sales tax increases.

Meanwhile, citizens of Johnson County laugh at our school district. All would nearly die before subjecting their kids to our Missouri schools. Therefore, all would nearly die before living in KC metro area. And I don’t completely disagree. I live here, but I don’t have kids. You can say all you want about stadiums improving quality of life, but here in Kansas City, I’m not seeing any more quality of life. I’m seeing the beautiful smaller shops closing out for the big dogs who move in. I’m seeing a decayed swope park, which should be a highlight of the city for all it’s spaciousness.

Overall, crime has gone down. This has nothing to do with the Stadiums. Whenever these issues come up, people always talk about these major improvements. Very little happens from this. And it’s not about the money for me. The sales tax will be invisible. It’s about priority. KC schools are doing terrible. Johnson County schools are doing great. Kid’s are our future. I think the priority is clear. And you can count on that most, if not all of our Kansas City kids won’t be playing in those stadiums. They might be working there, but that’s not something that makes me feel good. I’ve worked at a stadium before, I know what it’s like.

Posted in rants