Group threatens developer with lawsuit over arena

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A developer withdrew plans to renovate Kemper Arena after the American Royal Association threatened a lawsuit, a letter obtained by The Kansas City Star shows.

An attorney for American Royal, which hosts livestock exhibitions and professional rodeos, told Foutch Brothers in the Oct. 17 letter to quit its efforts to have Kemper Arena declared a historic structure, the newspaper reported. The designation would have helped with financing for Foutch's proposal to turn the arena into a youth sports facility.

Foutch and American Royal have spent months pitching plans for the future of the arena. While Foutch's proposal would preserve the arena, plans by American Royal call for tearing it down and replacing it with a multipurpose building.

The letter claims a historic designation would negatively affect American Royal's long-term lease with the city, which continues through 2045, for the American Royal Complex that includes the arena.

"We demand you cease your efforts with respect to the historic designation applications you filed over the city's objection," states the letter to Foutch's lawyer, John Fairfield. "While we have high confidence you will not be successful, those applications impair and impact property which my clients helped to finance and which we have under lease for the next several decades."

When Foutch announced it was dropping its Kemper Arena proposal, representatives of the development firm declined to give more detail about why, only saying the decision was prompted by "circumstances beyond their control."

City Manager Troy Schulte said he was shown the letter by Steve Foutch and that it was the reason the firm backed out.

Kemper Arena has lost nearly all of its events to the downtown Sprint Center in recent years and is currently idle.

Though the arena is only about 40 years old it could still qualify for a historic designation because it has hosted the 1976 Republican National Convention and many championship sports competitions, said Elizabeth Rosin, a Kansas City historic preservation consultant.

Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com