Local KC developer reveals proposed 2011 opening for the new Kansas City Wizards soccer stadium and mixed used development is facing delays because the economy is hampering signing retail and office tenants.

Story by Bizjournals

“A developer working on the $1 billion mixed-use redevelopment of the Bannister Mall area said hopes of getting the proposed $130 million Kansas City Wizards soccer stadium opened there by 2011 are growing dim.

“I can safely say right now that it would be pretty tough to hit that right now,” said Owen Buckley, president of Lane4Property Group Inc.

Lane4 and Kansas City Wizards owner OnGoal LLC are partners in Three Trails Redevelopment LLC, which has received approvals for $230 million of local tax increment financing and about $50 million in state incentives for the 467-acre project, dubbed The Trails.

However, $6.25 million in state tax credits for the project are conditioned on completion of the 18,500-seat, publicly owned soccer stadium at The Trails and a 23-year lease with the Wizards by the end of 2011.

That date is looking increasingly unachievable because of the recession, which has prevented the developers from signing any retail or office tenants for the project, Buckley said. Therefore, the Wizards may have to negotiate for another season at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan., or look elsewhere.

Robb Heineman, CEO of OnGoal LLC, declined to comment. John Ehlert, owner of CommunityAmerica Ballpark and the Kansas City T-Bones minor-league baseball team it was built for, said he is willing to discuss a lease extension for the Wizards’ 2011 season with Heineman. Ehlert said he also would be open to exploring a roughly 2,000-seat expansion of CommunityAmerica, which Buckley said could provide short-term relief for the Wizards.

The developers have bought more than 200 acres at the site, continue to court retail and office tenants, and are on target to complete demolition of the shuttered Bannister Mall by October, he said.

“We are getting the property in a position so that when the skies do clear, we can proceed almost immediately with our project,” Buckley said.”

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