KC Buzz Blog

A sweet deal no more. Krispy Kreme promotion is out of here!

    First off, the bad, sad news from this afternoon's 15th Annual Baseball Forecast Luncheon: Krispy Kreme's 12-hits-gets-you-a-dozen-dough nuts promotion is no more, says Royals president Dan Glass.

   He said the dough-nut maker's corporate philosophy had changed and the company no longer wanted to continue the promotion. But Glass quipped the good news is, "We will all lose a lot of weight." And he joked Krispy Kreme execs were so startled by the team's improvements in the second half of last season that they were worried about the frequency of this year's giveway if the hit total wasn't raised to 24 for a dozen.

  (Catcher John Buck talked about the pressure put on a player coming up to bat when the Royals had 11 hits and the score of up 10 runs or down 10 runs didn't matter, it changed the feel of the whole at-bat.) 

   Glass did say the Royals are working on a replacement promotion, but don't look for it to be free tacos or barbecue.

   Other than that, the mood was upbeat at the luncheon held at the downtown Marriott.   

   Unlike last year, there was no cloud about the firing of the general manager or the team manager. There was no uncertainty over how to pay for overhauling the Truman Sports Complex. Jokes and one liners ruled the day. Pitcher Luke Hudson was a particularly good sport about all the jokes sent hurling his way. (Broadcaster Ryan Lefebrve started it off by reminiscing about a particularly bad outing for Hudson and then talking about his good looks and single status.)

  Glass and Royals owner David Glass were late arriving for pre-luncheon media interviews due to a meeting with the architects designing the voter-approved overhaul at Kauffman Stadium.

   Dan Glass told the throng that the Royals has been consulting focus groups and fans and visiting other stadiums during the off season as part of the design process. He said the priorities were to stay on budget ($250 million for Kauffman Stadium) and to "preserve and enhance" the stadium. The bulk of the work won't begin until after this upcoming season concludes.

   In response to a question, Dan Glass said the team is working with Major League Baseball and local civic leaders to determine which year Kansas City will host its second All-Star game.  (It definitely won't be before 2010 when construction is scheduled to be completed.) He said one of the issues being tackled now is ensuring there will be sufficient convention space for the extravaganza.

   "Be ready because it is coming to Kansas City," Dan Glass said.

   Among the luminaries attending the event hosted by the Kansas City Sports Commission & Foundation were Mayor Kay Barnes, former State Rep. Ralph Monaco (who wore a Royal blue 1985 World Series champion jacket) and mortage banker Jim Nutter Jr. 

Posted by DeAnn Smith

Are Tigers tickets a sufficient consolation prize to losing out on suite Chiefs tickets?

    Remember last fall when Gov. Matt Blunt skipped over Warren Erdman for a vacancy for the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority? Most had expected Erdman to be the pick among the three candidates, but instead Blunt went with former Chiefs great Deron Cherry (which helped Blunt because Cherry was a charismatic well-regarded African-American Republican and, like Erdman, a campaign supporter).

   So for those scratching their heads about Erdman not getting a pass for the authority's suite at Arrowhead Stadium, perhaps his consolation prize was sweeeet Mizzou tickets. Of course, state Sen. Matt Bartle has other ideas.

  And for KC Buzz Blog readers who love irony, note who's Cherry's state senator and thus listed as making the recommendation for Cherry? Why our very own Bartle.

Posted by DeAnn Smith

A Royal surprise

  Jackson County folks were as shocked as anyone to read Bob Dutton's story today that Mark Gorris is no longer the Royals' senior vice president of business operations.

   With the recent turmoil over the Chiefs lease, Jackson County officials thought Gorris would be the rock for the Royals when it came to developing and implementing the overhaul at Kauffman Stadium. He played the lead role in negotiations with the county, even at times drawing grumbles for taking such a hard-line stance on behalf of his boss, owner David Glass. He also drew praise for his accessibility, pleasantness and professionalism.

  But his reputation for being a stickler also was helpful. Unlike the Chiefs, who didn't get anything in writing from the NFL on their lease with the county, Gorris demanded and got in writing from Major League Baseball their OK for the Royals' lease with the county. That written confirmation came in March, before the election, as the lease required.

   Gorris represented the Royals -- perhaps for the last time publicly -- at Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields' final State of the County Address today. Legislators Dennis Waits, Rhonda Shoemaker and Dan Tarwater along with the Chiefs vice chairman Jack Steadman were among those wishing Gorris well.

  How hard will it be for Gorris to leave? He kept saying "we" and then correcting himself to say, "they," when it came to talk about the renovations. He said he's leaving the team with scores of ideas for the renovations and is proud of his accomplishments over the past six years, particularly the successful stadium campaign and lease negotiations.

   He insisted that he was not forced out, saying his departure is amicable. Rather than see his beloved Cardinals clinch the division series this weekend, Gorris was cleaning out his office. (He was a Cardinals exec before coming to the Royals.) His last official day was Monday. He said he has a few projects to wrap up for the Royals in a consultant-type capacity, including related to Royals broadcast, but is now looking for a new "adventure," a.k.a. job. And he plans to catch some of the Cardinals playoff games, hopefully in the World Series.

   (Club president Dan Glass and others will attend to Gorris' duties for now.)

   Gorris said he is confident that his permanent replacement will do a fine job overseeing the $250 million Kauffman renovation:

   "I wish nothing but the best for Kansas City."

Posted by DeAnn Smith

Chiefs season ticket holders see green

    Are you a Chiefs season-ticket holder giddy about yesterday's win? Here's some news likely to turn your Monday blue.

   The NFL has rejected the Chiefs and Jackson County's plans to start charging next year a $1 per ticket surcharge to help pay for maintenance at Arrowhead Stadium. Instead, county legislators are considering giving the Chiefs the OK to charge $131 over three years to season-ticket holders or roughly $44 a year starting in 2007.

   Needless to say, most Chiefs season-ticket holders interviewed Sunday who are paying $49 to $88 per ticket were none too amused. County legislators thrash the issue out this afternoon and are scheduled to vote next week.

   Some county folks are none too happy because the NFL was suppose to have signed off on the surcharge by mid-March before new 25-year leases with the Royals and Chiefs went to county voters in April. The 3/8-cent sales tax approved by voters to raise $425 million for improvements (plus interest) at Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums kicked in Sunday.

   The plans to charge 30-cents per Royals tickets for maintenance remain unchanged.

  Look for more details at www.kansascity.com this afternoon and in tomorrow's Star.

  Posted by DeAnn Smith

They may party at our house but they won't soil our carpet

  The Jackson County Sports Complex paid almost $168,000 of your tax dollars to install new carpet at Kauffman Stadium this spring. The home and visiting locker rooms were included in the upgrade.

   Of course, no one had to worry this season about the Royals unleashing a champagne spray on the blue carpet (unless maybe for failing to lose 100 games for the umpteenth time). But then the Detroit Tigers rolled into town this weekend, poised to make the playoffs for the first time since 1987.

   And the Royals staff's eyes grew wide when they realized they had brought into the visitor's clubhouse 220 bottles of champagne. So they scrambled over the weekend to find sheets of plastic to cover the Tigers' locker room and kept a close eye on the White Sox game (they won Saturday, postponing the Tigers' celebration). The Royals staff held their breath, hoping the White Sox would win Sunday and the Boys in Blue would too, meaning the Tigers would have to delay their victory soak until they were back in Detroit.

   Er, the White Sox won but the Blue boys, well, they were just blue. And so the Tigers uncorked their playoff bubbly at Kauffman. But check out the photo. The carpet and everything else was encased in plastic. Predictions on when the Royals will have to worry about the problem for the home locker room?

   Oh, a helpful tip. If you're contemplating a big ticket purchase, you might want to do it this week. Because starting Sunday, the sales tax in Jackson County goes up 3/8-cents thanks to the successful April vote to overhaul Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums. And, no, as much as we might wish, the vote did not include overhauling the teams' rosters!

Posted by DeAnn Smith

Cherry's blossom festival

  Check out Wednesday's Star for an update on the tap dance between Jackson County legislators and Gov. Matt Blunt on filling a vacancy on the commission that oversees the county-owned Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums.

  Shorter version: Lawsuit talk is off, a compromise gets closer. And that compromise has a name. A name you've probably heard of. Chiefs Hall of Famer Deron Cherry.

  Cherry's candidacy first got pitched by commentator Tiberius on Aug. 14 here on The KC Buzz Blog.

  That same day, Cherry was asked his interest in the sports authority. Heck yeah, so much so he subsequently applied. And county legislators interviewed him Monday.

  Both Democrats and Republicans think he would be a good fit for the sports authority. A registered Republican, Cherry has a history of civic and political involvement.

  "He is the governor's dream candidate," said County Legislator Bob Spence, himself a Republican.

  So look for a Cherry-filled three-person slate later this month. Both county and state officials think Blunt would be hard pressed to bypass this sweet name.

   Posted by DeAnn Smith

That sound you heard? Jackson County officials exhaling

   Yesterday's rain may have caused a few fans to want a rolling roof, but Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields says she had a recurring thought while watching yesterday's debacle, er, Chiefs game.

   "Thank you, Lord, we had the stadium election in April rather than November."

   Legislators Dan Tarwater and Rhonda Shoemaker, who sit on the county's stadium construction oversight committee, concurred. They said between the Royals' flirting with another 100-loss season and the losses possibly mounting up for the Willie Roaf/Trent Green-less Chiefs, April was the perfect time for an election (Chiefs had come off a winning season and hope always springs eternal for the Royals in March) Otherwise, disgruntled fans may have made for disgrunted voters.

   Last year, county and team officials and national experts told The Star that the teams' winning (or lack thereof) records could have just as much of an impact on a vote as any glossy marketing campaign (though Save Our Stadiums' consultants Pat Gray and Steve Glorioso might beg to differ).

  Posted by DeAnn Smith

   

Sports authority candidates need not apply?

   With fanfare, Jackson County legislators announced Monday they were taking applications for the five-member Sport Authority Complex Commission. Besides overseeing the zillion, er, almost a billion dollar Truman Sports Complex overhaul, commissioners get cushy sweeeet, I mean, suite tickets to Chiefs games.

   The legislators made clear it was an open process and anyone of any political stripe could apply to be on the three-person panel submitted to Gov. Matt Blunt, who will have the final say (with Senate approval). County honchos said interviews would occur in two weeks.

  Of course, legislators would want to go above and beyond about being transparent since a previous appointment of a sports authority member led to a federal investigation of Jackson County, Executive Katheryn Shields and former executive Bill Waris. (Shields was cleared but Waris pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI).

   But at Tuesday's sports authority meeting, folks were buzzing that the panel members had already been selected: Albert Riederer, Bob Lewellen and Tony Romano. All three are Democrats.

   Riederer is a former judge and prosecutor. He was challenging incumbent Henry Rizzo until Rizzo accused Shields of getting Rierderer into the race against him and threatened to go ballistic on the eve of the April stadium vote. Riederer then bowed out. Lewellen served with Shields on the city council. Romano's term just ended (he serves until someone replaces him) and Legislator Dan Tarwater wants him re-appointed.

   Rizzo confirms that Riederer, Lewellen and Romano are keenly interested in the gig and are strong contenders. But he insists no deal has been struck and other viable candidates are also emerging, including Kansas City Southern's Warren Erdman, a staunch Republican.

  Some county folks (hint: Shields) think only a Democrat should get the seat and want to send up only Democrats to Blunt.

  But the two Republicans on the Legislature -- along with some other county officials --  question whether Blunt will pick from a list of three Democrats or keep rejecting the panel until he gets an independent or Republican to choose. That's because state law allows the five-member sports authority to have up to three members from the sitting governor's party and Blunt has made clear he wants a Republican majority. And right now the authority has just two Republicans: Mike Smith and Richard Hastings. Blunt twice rejected panels in 2005 because they didn't include a Republican. Why wouldn't he do so again in 2006?

  Time will tell who the county submits and who Blunt picks and how many times the submission/rejection dance occurs. But if history is any guide, it will be almost as entertaining as a Chiefs-Denver game (at Arrowhead, not Denver, of course).

Posted by DeAnn Smith