The Wizards’ new soccer-specific stadium took one major step toward reality Thursday.
The Missouri Development Finance Board approved $30 million in tax credits toward The Trails development in southeast Kansas City. That clears the way for the LANE4 Property Group and the Wizards’ ownership group, OnGoal LLC, to begin demolition of the old Bannister Mall site and start construction of a $1 billion mixed-use project.
The centerpiece of the project will be the $100 million soccer stadium, seating 18,500, scheduled to open late in the 2010 Major League Soccer season or for the start of the 2011 season.
“It’s a really big day for us,” said Robb Heineman, chief executive officer of OnGoal and president of the Wizards. “It’s huge for us to have this out of the way to make sure the project comes together.
OnGoal is investing about 71 percent of the capital required for the project, which will include the stadium, 12 tournament-quality soccer fields, 590 hotel rooms, 1.13 million square feet of mixed-use retail, 1.7 million square feet of office space and 18,249 parking spaces. Public taxing districts will provide the additional 29 percent, mostly through TIFs.
There are still some details remaining before the wrecking ball hits Bannister Mall, including the purchase of the Sears building, Heineman said.
He also conceded the current economic climate “may impact us a little bit … if you look at the broad credit markets right now, they’re not great.
The Wizards, founded in 1996 by the late Lamar Hunt, played their first 12 seasons at Arrowhead Stadium before taking up temporary residence at CommunityAmerica Ballpark this season for all but one home game that was played at Arrowhead.
Last year, the club moved into a privately financed, $3 million state-of-the-art training center in Swope Park, just minutes from the site of the new stadium project.
Of the 13 other MLS franchises, eight play in soccer-specific stadiums, and the New York Red Bulls have broken ground on a new facility in Harrison, N.J. The Wizards will remain at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, which seats 10,385 for soccer, until the new stadium is completed in 2010.
Source: Kansas City Star
