Missouri Revives MODESA Tax Incentive to Boost Royals Ballpark, KC Riverfront
A tax program that helped build Kansas City’s Power & Light District is back — and the Royals’ Crown Center ballpark could be one of its first beneficiaries.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI — A dormant Missouri tax incentive program that once helped transform downtown Kansas City’s Power & Light District is set to make a comeback, potentially funding the Royals’ proposed ballpark at Crown Center and the Kansas City Current’s riverfront expansion.
The Missouri General Assembly recently approved an updated version of the Missouri Downtown Economic Stimulus Act, known as MODESA, as part of a broader economic development omnibus bill, House Bill 3231. The original program was enacted in 2003 and stopped accepting new applications in 2013, though previously authorized projects — including the Power & Light apartment towers — have continued under that earlier authorization.
What the Revived Program Allows
The updated MODESA legislation expands the scope of the original program in several ways. It permits the expansion of existing developments, allows up to two new developments per municipality, and broadens the types of taxes that can be collected to finance eligible projects.
According to the Missouri Independent, the expanded program’s boundaries in Kansas City would stretch from the Missouri riverfront south to 31st Street, encompassing several areas targeted for future development.
The bill also creates Missouri Innovation Zones, within which municipalities and businesses would qualify for tax incentives related to public safety upgrades, office-to-residential building conversions, angel investments, and job creation.
Local Officials See Familiar Challenges
Dan Moye, vice president of land development for the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City, said the program’s return comes at a time when the city is still grappling with many of the same obstacles it faced two decades ago.
“We still have a ton of vacant property downtown,” Moye said. “We still have a lot of aging infrastructure to work through, and so there continues to be both extra costs for large-scale development and revenues that don’t achieve a market return. That continues to be, while different, a similar set of issues to what we were facing 20 years ago.”
Moye indicated that the revival of MODESA would give developers and city officials a financial tool to address those persistent barriers to large-scale urban investment.
Royals Ballpark and Current Stadium Among Potential Beneficiaries
Two of Kansas City’s most closely watched development projects could benefit directly from the revived incentive. The Kansas City Royals have proposed constructing a new ballpark at Crown Center, while the Kansas City Current soccer club has plans to expand its riverfront stadium complex.
Both projects represent the kind of large-scale downtown investment the program was originally designed to support, according to the Missouri Independent. The Power & Light District, which the original MODESA helped finance in the early 2000s, is now one of the city’s most active entertainment and commercial hubs — a transformation that took years of investment and public financing tools to achieve.
The updated bill has been approved by the Missouri General Assembly and is part of the broader HB 3231 economic development package. Further details on implementation and project applications are expected as the legislation moves forward.
