Kansas City Sports Hero Helped Defeat $2 Billion Stadium Subsidy
- Tax would have funded stadium revamp, new downtown ballpark
- Teams have threatened to leave the city without the upgrades
A bid to build a $2 billion ballpark and surrounding entertainment district in Kansas City — akin to Chicago’s Wrigleyville — faced a surprising opponent.
Frank White Jr., a hall of fame player who has a statue of him near the right field bleachers, wasn’t a fan of giving a professional sports team a massive public subsidy. Before baseball, he was a union worker and literally helped build Kauffman Stadium where the Royals wanted to leave for a new ballpark downtown.