$400 million project lures MLS's Wizards to Kansas

• globest.com, Saturday, December 19, 2009 7:30 AM

MLS's Kansas City Wizards are set to break ground next week on a 18,000-seat stadium in Kansas, part of a $400 million project that includes an office park for Cerner Corp. The stadium will be located in Village West, near the Kansas Speedway. The project has hinged on the ability to sell $147 million in STAR bonds to finance construction.

"Based on the information that we've received from the bond financing community, we are now confident that bonds can be sold," says Wizards president Robb Heineman in a statement. "In fact, although the formal agreements have yet to be inked, we're confident enough in the pace and direction that, starting next week, you'll begin to see yellow machines on site at Village West in Kansas moving dirt, at our expense."

The project, which has been on the drawing board for months, was up in the air over concerns about the ability to sell $147 million in STAR bonds to finance the construction. Both states were attempting to sweeten the deal with incentive plans.

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