Experts say Kansas data is wrong about Chiefs stadiums - The Beacon

Several economists told the Beacon that Kansas relied on inflated numbers to make the Chiefs stadium move look better.

Monica Curls still remembers waiting for a player's autograph after a Chiefs home game when she was about 10 years old.

- The Kansas Department of Commerce estimates that more than 2 million people will travel to the state stadium without tickets to the game.Economists doubt that.

- Kansas says the stadium will bring $4.4 billion in economic impact through construction alone.The state government says it will create 20,000 construction jobs and nearly 4,000 permanent jobs.

- Mayak sought to speak with the group that calculates the economic impact reports used by the state.The company did not respond to requests for comment.

"I had something signed by Deron Cherry, I had something signed by Steve DeBerg," said Curls, a Kansas City Public Schools board member.

Curls said his family has had season tickets since 2007. They also had season tickets in the 1970s, when the Chiefs first moved to Arrowhead Stadium, but the seats weren't as good, so the family got rid of the season tickets.They still showed up to games.

The Chiefs announced plans to leave Missouri after securing more than $2 billion in incentives from Kansas.The team is expected to build a stadium in Wyandotte County and a mixed-use project in Olathe with a practice facility and team headquarters.

Kansas has proposed 60% of the multibillion-dollar project -- $1.8 billion in bonds for the stadium and $1 billion in other projects.

According to a valuable driver, that is the most money of the public sports player in American sports in America.And Kanasas is doing this to attract the fans like curls, and a whole evening of his family, spend their money in KANSAS, I don't have misss.

The Kansas Department of Commerce estimates that the team will generate $4.4 billion in economic development during construction and an additional $1 billion each year the stadium is built in Kansas.

Economists have long been skeptical of using taxes to attract sports teams.They continue to warn that professional sports don't bring in as much money as advocates claim.

Now that the deal is done, The Beacon has asked the state to release any financial report, study or part of the data they used to calculate the group's Kansas benefits.

Beacon later showed the data to four economists, one of whom said the state's calculations were "incredibly optimistic and modest."

“I laughed for a while after I saw (their calculations),” said J.C. Bradbury, an economics professor at Kennesaw State University.

"It's absolutely crazy," said Dennis Coats, an economics professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County."I don't know how to put it any other way. That number is not credible."

He brought people to Kansas

Kansas used its sales tax and revenue bond program to attract the chiefs.The program uses future sales taxes collected from the STAR Bond District to pay off the debt.

Supporters have argued that if no one goes to a Chiefs game, their tax money will not pay for the stadium.They also claim that the construction of the stadium will bring in enough people.

"This is a great day for Kansas taxpayers because we accomplished ... all this without raising taxes on Kansas taxpayers, without spending any essential revenue from the state's general fund, and without invoking the state's full faith and credit in the bonds," Chiefs attorney Kolb Maxwell said in testimony ahead of Wednesday. Maxwell called Kansas' STAR bonds "tried, true and tested."

Kennesaw State University is located in Cobb County, Georgia and is home to Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves.In early 2010, Cobb County paid $300 million to relocate the Braves from Fulton County to Cobb County, hoping to see economic returns similar to those currently being experienced in Kansas.

Bradbury reviewed the move and said the county received $3 million in additional tax revenue from the stadium alone.That's for a team that plays 81 games a year and has four times the annual attendance of the Chiefs.

"There's no such thing as a free stadium," Bradbury said."You can't just spend $1.8 billion of taxpayer money. You can't pull that money out of thin air. It has to come from somewhere."

Bradbury's concerns, along with those of other economists, fall into two categories.In their view,Professional sports do not generate enough new economic activity to pay off huge debts.But they also oppose Kansas' requests to increase the number of visitors the stadium accepts.

Kansas City officials estimate that 3.7 million people will visit the stadium, headquarters and four facilities each year.The Wichita project is currently repaying $55.3 million in bonds and would be unable to pay off billions in debt.

Of the 3.7 million people expected to visit the Chiefs' projects, 532,000 would visit for non-team activities such as concerts, corporate events and other sports, the state said.

That means about 3.2 million people will attend events at the stadium during Chiefs games.The Chiefs can play a maximum of 15 home games at a time.Two preseason games, nine regular season home games, three playoff games and a Super Bowl doesn't happen every year.

That means the state estimates at least 215,000 fans will be in attendance for each game, whether they have tickets or are at nearby venues.Economists say that figure is ridiculous for a 65,000-seat stadium.

Curls, of Missouri, said Arrowhead Stadium is currently less than a 10-minute drive without traffic.On game days, he can leave his house and get to the stadium in about 30 minutes.He's keeping his season tickets for now, but worries the price will go up if the Chiefs move to a new stadium in Kansas.

If the team were to build a 65,000-seat stadium, that would be about 10,000 fewer seats than Arrowhead Stadium currently has.That would increase ticket prices, he said, and there could be additional costs to buy season tickets.Curls thinks season ticket prices will increase.

Curls said he would try Kansas' stadium district, but probably not.

"That's (15) potential extra days (in Kansas) out of 365," Curls said, "And yes, there's some tax money involved. I don't know if it's going to be worth all that they're throwing at them."

Wear out cars in Kansas

For Kansas, the math is simple.All game day spending was in Missouri, and now that threshold has been exceeded, said Robert North, chief counsel for the Kansas Department of Commerce.

"This is all new spending for Kansas," he said.

Game day cost estimates depend on who is doing the math.

NJ.bet has estimated the cost of attending a game at each stadium in the league.At Arrowhead, it is estimated that a fan who pays for parking, a hot dog, a beer and a ticket spends $184.55.That could mean $12 million in game-day spending for each Chiefs game — and that's not counting advertising or fans buying more than two concession items.

Action Network estimates that a family of four spends $1,690 on each game.

The NFL's 32 teams generate a total of $4.2 billion in game day revenue, according to Sports Value, a sports marketing company.That's the second-highest game-day gross behind Major League Baseball.

The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that annual spending by people without game tickets is expected to reach $46.7 million.$372 and $376 during stay.

Rob Guy lives in Prairie Village, Kansas and goes to a Chiefs game once a year.He watches many games at home with friends and family.

The man wants to see the new stadium.He watched the Chiefs play in Arizona and liked the pregame options in Glendale.Whether he goes in person, or stays at home, Kansas or Missouri - Guy attends Chiefs games.

Economists say this is one reason stadiums don't generate much economic development.After a week, Guy may have to pay for parking and hot dogs at the new stadium.But the next week, he returned home and bought groceries at a local grocery store to prepare for the game.People spend money whether there is a stadium or not.

Guy, who is also a current KC fan, said he was attracted to the development of the river and the soccer team's stadium because of the limited options there.

He said he would like to see unique, local restaurants near Chiefs Stadium in Kansas.Gay said he already has chain restaurants in his neighborhood and won't travel to the next county for the same option.But it was the unique selection that allowed him to approach the current region without any competition.

"It's like shipping containers, and they have a cocktail called Moonstone," Guy said."But this is an example of a local bar being imagined. It's not like Buffalo Wild Wings."

Make Kansas a tourist destination

Chiefs season ticket holders come from 10 different states, according to state data provided to The Beacon.People from outside Kansas City will travel to the ballparks, according to the North Department of Commerce.

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said when she announced the Chiefs' decision that Kansas "is not a passing state, we are a catching state."

The Commerce Department estimates that 28.3 percent of stadium visitors come from out of state and 32 percent from within 100 miles.

Daniel Kuester, a professor of economics at Kansas State University, is one of the 32% of people who commute 100 miles.

It is not known where the stadium will be located in Wyandotte County.But Manhattan and Emporia are about 100 miles away.It's only an hour and a half drive.Wichita is two and a half hours away.

Kuester said if he goes to a game, he buys all his cycling supplies at his hometown grocery store.Then he will go to the stadium.The same goes for someone who lives in Missouri and fills up their car before driving to the stadium.

"You also think that everyone who comes to a Chiefs game is going to spend all the money around the stadium," Kuester said.

Kuster noted that some football tourists may land at Kansas City International Airport and rent a car in Missouri.Tourists from other states can rent a hotel in Missouri and spend money there.

The Chiefs have a 30-year lease on the stadium.If government estimates are correct, most of the economic growth will come from regular seasonal activity.But the state expects a $4.4 billion economic impact from construction alone.

North said he would create 20,000 temporary construction jobs, and those workers would drive to Kansas every day for restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores.That doesn't even count all the jobs companies will get.

"There is a construction job and this activity is in Kansas," he said, "100% of this activity will be done in Kansas."

Then come the full-time employees who work at the stadium and the team.The economic impact report said the stadium projects would support 3,990 jobs in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.Kansas expects $61.8 million in annual income taxes, the state said.

Roger Noll, a professor of economics at Stanford University, said the figure of 20,000 construction jobs is about right.But that's not necessarily a net increase in jobs in Kansas.

Economists say those people will work too.They only build stadiums instead of other projects.And there will be a stadium because the Chiefs want to build a new stadium or renovate Arrowhead if the team is in Missouri.

The Chiefs aren't moving far.So they won't have much of a long-term job with Kansas and the team.Because everyone who works in the field will keep their jobs, he said.

And the long-term work is not good, said Noll.Sports teams employ only a few thousand people.And the game day staff, like ushers and hot dog vendors, only work a few hours a day about a dozen times a year.

Bradbury, with Kennesaw State University, expects to hit Kansas taxpayers in the long run.He was skeptical of an incentive package to lure a team before approval.Now that it has been accepted and he has seen the state's predictions, he remains pessimistic.

"It's like asking me if two plus two equals ice," he said."These are fake numbers, they are just made up."

The Beacon reached out to the company that calculates economic development data on stadiums, but they did not respond to a request for comment.

"When you ask me to evaluate the number," Bradbury said, "my answer is not how we see it to begin with."