All sides have agreed to a plan to finance a new soccer stadium and office complex in Wyandotte County with $144.5 million of Kansas sales tax revenue, or STAR, bonds and $85 million in state tax credits and cash incentives.
The 20-year bonds will be issued by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County. Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with the developers last week.
The project will be located on vacant land within the 400-acre Village West entertainment and recreation area adjacent to the Kansas Speedway motor racetrack. The existing development was financed in part with proceeds of $265 million of STAR bonds issued in 2001.
The project is expected to cost $414 million. It will include a $202.7 million, 18,500-seat soccer stadium for the Kansas City Wizards and a $149.6 million office campus for Cerner Corp., a medical software and technology company currently based in North Kansas City, Mo.
The mixed-use project also includes a $47.7 million amateur sports complex with 18 tournament-quality soccer fields and a $14.3 million hotel.
Cerner said the move would bring 4,500 new jobs to Kansas at an average annual salary of $65,000.
The STAR bonds will be supported with local and state sales tax revenue generated by the merchants at the Village West development, the site of the proposed stadium. The development currently generates about $40 million in annual tax revenue.
Cerner has promised to begin construction of its office complex by the end of 2011. Construction on the sports stadium is scheduled to begin this year and be completed before the 2012 Major League Soccer season begins.
