KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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The Belton City Council approved a $69,000 feasibility study Tuesday night for a 3,500-seat independent baseball stadium.
The council and residents had a lively debate over taxes, traffic and city priorities.
The council passed the resolution in a 5-3 vote. The 12-week study will review site locations, community feasibility and funding mechanisms for a potential Frontier League expansion team.
Belton City Manager Joe Warren told the council the $69,000 price tag is relatively small for the potential gain, though he acknowledged building a stadium could cost tens of millions of dollars.
"The study is designed to help us figure out — is it going to be a publicly financed stadium?" Warren said on Tuesday night.
Allyson Lawson and Chris Richardson were two of the three council members who voted against the study. They cited a need to focus on deferred maintenance, including deteriorating and missing sidewalks, along with improvements to water lines and storm water projects.
"There’s so many other avenues we should’ve pursued first, I think," Lawson said. "It’s not a priority for me and my neighbors that I speak with. It's sidewalks. Seven of the nine schools in Belton are in Ward 3, which is my ward. Out in west Belton, the neighborhoods don’t have sidewalks, so kids are walking on the streets. Sidewalks don’t generate economic activity necessarily, but it’s a quality-of-life issue I continue to harp on."
Richardson expressed concern about the lack of an upfront ownership group and immediately views this as a project that would impact taxpayers wallets.
He estimates the stadium could cost upwards of $40 million.
"The way I see it right now, it’s a taxpayer funded stadium, until we get private investors or a group to come in and front the bill," Richardson said.
Lawson also questioned the timing with the city already preparing for the Uptown Entertainment District to break ground this year. She expressed discomfort with how the stadium proposal originated after a few council members and city staff attended a Gateway Grizzlies game last summer in Sauget, Illinois.
"To hear that three folks and the city manager took a trip, were treated to dinner, whether it was stadium hot dogs or steak, doesn't really matter to me. It makes me really uncomfortable," Lawson said during Tuesday's meeting.
Councilwoman Patty Johnson defended the trip, saying she went with an open mind to see if a stadium could generate revenue and increase the quality of life for citizens.
"I don't think it was on a whim," Johnson said.
Lawson told KSHB 41, she doesn't understand the rush to get this study done as constituents in her ward aren't expressing the desire for a project like this.
"I don’t understand why there wasn’t more resident input other than some buzz on social media, which when you actually stop and talk to the people, it’s a very different story," she said.
Frontier League Commissioner Steve Tahsler said the league prioritizes being a community partner, noting stadiums can host events for more than 200 calendar days a year.
"We are thrilled Belton has approved the feasibility study," Tahsler said in a statement to KSHB 41 on Tuesday.
Chris Allen, owner and coach of Wheelhouse Baseball Clinic, said in an interview with KSHB 41 earlier this month, a stadium would give local players goals and provide a space for community activities like Fourth of July fireworks.
KSHB 41 News Cass County reporter Ryan Gamboa spoke to other Belton residents Wednesday who shared mixed reactions to the proposal.
Some are excited about the entertainment options as the city grows, while others worry about the financial burden and traffic on Missouri 58 Highway.
"It’d bring us together, it’d give us an opportunity, to gather in one place and support something here in the community," Nicholas Stebbins said.
That's the goal of the stadium outlined by City Manager Joe Warren — the stadium would act as a conference center and entertainment venue for the remaining calendar days when baseball isn't being played.
The study will identify which location works best and if Belton can handle a possible 3,500 seat stadium.
The most important aspect of the project will likely be funding.
"The study is supposed to help us decide — is this something that is actually going to happen — or that could actually happen in Belton, something that Belton could support," Warren told KSHB 41 Cass County Reporter Ryan Gamboa in an interview earlier this month. "If everything works out, hopefully in a couple of years we will be talking about baseball and other events."
Mark Duffy, a Belton resident, expressed his support for a stadium, as long as he doesn't have to pay for it.
"I think it’d be okay as long as the taxpayers aren’t paying for it," Duffy said. "Taxes are already high and groceries are expensive."
The remaining city council members that approved the study said they want to give the idea a chance, rather than shoot it down before they know if it would work in the community.
KSHB 41 will continue to follow any new developments around this project.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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