Poker, anyone?
Just last fall the hot shots at the American Royal laid a huge bluff on Kansas City, threatening to move the Royal and its vaunted barbecue contest somewhere else.
Unless of course, KC would rubber stamp a deal to cough up $50 million in public funding for a new, smaller venue for the American Royal’s horse and livestock shows that hardly anybody attends (or even thinks about).
Businessman Terry Dunn, of J.E. Dunn Construction – a Leawood, Kansas resident last I checked – fired off a letter dissing a competing plan for Kemper Arena that wouldn’t have allowed his company to get its fingers in the pie for tearing down Kemper and building a replacement.
“This is no time to engage in wishful thinking or jeopardize the long-standing Kansas City asset that thrives in the West Bottoms, like the American Royal,” Dunn’s letter concluded.
Hold it right there…
When’ s the last time anybody characterized the American Royal as thriving?
A glimpse at the organization’s tax filings from 2009 through 2014 reveals net losses of around $1.5 million.
Granted those are small losses for a reasonably legit not-for-profit like the American Royal. However its $2 million plus in grants and contributions every year could have gone a long way in benefiting local charities with needs beyond writing $200,000 paychecks to their CEO, hosting a society ball and providing a place for spouses to strut their pony prowess.
But let’s cut to the chase…
Now that the BBQ contest is leaving the stockyards for Arrowhead, the American Royal’s power brokers have shot themselves in the foot.
Terry & Peggy Dunn
Because no longer does the threat of moving the Royal and BBQ contest appear even vaguely realistic.
Maybe Dunn could do KC a favor and help engineer the American Royal’s move to Leawood where he and wife, Leawood mayor-for-life Peggy Dunn reside.
Did anybody really think the threat of the crippled event leaving the Kansas City area was real to begin with? Or that it’s loss would matter to all but a small handful of Kansas Citians?
Besides, after more than 30 years in KC, how easy would it be to convince some 500-plus barbecue teams to pull up stakes and move someplace like Omaha?
Short of another city losing its complete mind and plowing untold millions into funding and promoting the American Royal, it would be the kiss of death for the event. Which seems to be fast approaching anyway.
However if moving is what it takes to get the American Royal back on its feet – more power to ’em – by all means move it.
Because even without a ridiculous financial investment by taxpayers, the American Royal’s survival here appears to be a huge long shot.
BBQ World Series and society ball aside, the American Royal’s goose looks pretty cooked.
All because somewhere along the line – probably 20 or more years ago – nobody at the top had the foresight to take the bull by the horns, rethink, reimagine and remake the American Royal.
And that’s pretty sad, but throwing money at the same folks who helped steer the Royal into the ditch hardly seems a sane solution.
The only other logical course of action would be for the Royal to leave Kemper and resign itself to sprucing up and using Hale Arena, which with a 5,000 capacity is pretty much exactly what it needs.
move’em to Dodge City, Omaha, hey… Wichita even!!!! pick a place, please, but quit trying to force this sham of an event and pretend society ball on the taxpaypayers. like h said, long time gone.
I fail to follow your logic that moving the American Royal means that they won’t move the American Royal.
That being said, this is an event that outlived it’s usefulness. One of the few good thing Ole Carwash Preacher did was stand up to these people when he was mayor.
Dear maple bacon donut:
Before I address your comment, is there really such a flavor as a maple bacon donut? Or is that just your dream donut?
Second and to your point, the American Royal conceded that the BBQ is it’s biggest event/biggest moneymaker.
And in threatening to leave KC, the only thing anybody much would miss would be that event. But now they’ve gone ahead and moved it out of the stockyards so they can no longer use knocking down Kemper to make room for the BBQ entrants as a threat – it’s (to quote he Eagles) already gone.
So now what’s their threat?
To move the shit hardly anybody cares about?
I spoke with Bill Nigro of Westport about this several months back and we both agreed the Hale Arena was the way for them to go.
It’s the perfect size (5,000 seats versus 19,000) and it’s already there and being used. Give em few million and let them raise the rest to spruce it up, maybe add whatever it is they might need and make them give up their claim to Kemper so the city can try and find a new tenant.
Nobody’s going to touch it with the American Royals lawyers have thrown down the gauntlet and scared off the Foutch Brothers
There are organizations that move to larger venues to support growing attendance. The Royal is not one of these. What used to be a cattle and horse show, complete with lizzards that changed color, is shrinking. From the BOTAR Ball to BarBQ, it is becoming nothing more than another Jewell Ball with BarBQ and rodeo attached. Perhaps we shouldn’t kill it, but allow it to die a graceful death. It should be obvious that the can’t pay the movers.
Well said, Cowboy…
But what really needs to happen is kind of the same thing that needs to happen at The Star, they need new blood (and financial backing) to come in and rethink the entire mess and come up with a way to salvage whatever can be salvaged – certainly the society ball and the BBQ – and do what Memphis did…
Transform it all into a kick ass promotion that stands on its own like Memphis in May.
Memphis is not exactly a cutting edge, deep pocketed town, yet look what they came up with.
Kansas City could totally do it, but not with a bunch of corporate bullies and businessmen who appear to be looking out for their vested interests rather than focussing on coming up with a world class solution.
Anybody think dropping $50 million on a new, smaller Kemper is going to light this town up? I rest my case.
What killed the American Royal was the Future Farmers of America (FFA) leaving Kansas City for Louisville, KY.
This town is a joke on a good day. It has 5 things it does extremely well: 1) Steaks 2) BBQ 3) Feeding the Poor/Homeless 4) Issuing Parking Citations 5) Discouraging New and Existing Businesses. The only time anything else gets done: Trolley, Major Hotels, Loosing Conventions, Etc. Is when the taxpayers are erroneously bilked
A wise man once told me that Wichita is trying to be like Kansas City, and Kansas City is trying to be like Wichita.