Matt Evans, Nick Sloan
Apr 10, 2024
JACKSON COUNTY, Mo. — Jackson County voters overwhelmingly rejected a new stadium sales tax for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals, and a recent survey provides insight into their decision.
A survey conducted by Jackson County Legislator Sean Smith reveals some reasons behind the results.
"There are opportunities for lessons learned for the teams for the county," said Jackson County Legislator Sean Smith.
Smith sent an email survey to thousands of Jackson County voters after the election. The survey asked what factors influenced their vote on Question 1.
Smith believes one of the mistakes the teams made was not listening to the voters. This sentiment was echoed in the survey responses, he said, with many voters expressing relief that someone was finally paying attention to their concerns.
He said the survey results revealed that "fear-based campaigning" did not resonate with many voters. Only 12% of respondents cited fear of the teams leaving as the biggest influencer on their vote.
About 33% of people chose factors such as parking, stadium location, crime, and the conditions of the current stadiums as driving their decision. Smith believes these voters could have been convinced to vote yes if the teams had spent more time addressing these issues.