Top Missouri legislator says he’ll consider charging taxpayers statewide for Royals stadium, because “vibrance”

Me, last Wednesday, on Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman’s evasive answers about who would pay for a new $2 billion downtown stadium project:

There could also be state or federal money involved, though Sherman didn’t say.

A commenter, a few hours later:

Regarding state money, don’t be so sure. Fans and politicians in St Louis are still unhappy about the Rams move and that Clark Hunt, owner of the Chiefs, voted for the move. I’m thinking the St Louis side of the state may not be too interested in sending state money to KC, even if it’s for baseball and not football.

Incoming State Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, right around the same time:

“We want to do everything we can to support what they’re doing,” Rowden said in an interview with FOX4 Wednesday. “I’m not from Kansas City obviously, but downtown ballparks generally bring a lot of vibrance and a lot of excitement to the downtown areas which I think can be a good thing for anybody.”

So, some of this is just what elected officials say early in the game: Oh, of course I want to help in any way I can, our sports team are part of the fabric of the state and without them our state would unravel like tattered fabric. Still, Rowden — the owner of both an incredible head of hair and a PR/brand management/spamming company who says he wants to “restore American greatness” and fight for “economy boosting tax cuts both for individuals and small businesses” but also stopping “out of control, unsustainable spending that is crippling future generations” because those are totally two different things — did go out of his way to praise a downtown ballpark as being a public good, at which point you’re just haggling over the price.

The same Fox4 report says that Sherman previously “said they had planned to ask the state to help fund their $2 billion new ballpark and district,” though if so I’m having a hard time finding it. Still, obviously Sherman would like some state money — he’s currently facing a funding gap possibly upwards of $1 billion — so having top state lawmakers eager to hear his ask has to be a welcome step forward for him. Maybe Rowden can also help Sherman use geo-locating to target an audience by location for best results? So many options here.