Royals and Chiefs use stadium repair money for office supplies and payroll taxes, reports say

• Ian Munroe
• New kinds of money problems have arrived at the K.

WHB-810 AM’s Kevin Kietzman reported yesterday that the Royals have been using taxpayer money intended for repairs to Kauffman Stadium on office supplies, employee salaries and even for paying payroll taxes. Citing a tipster within the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority, Kietzman reports that over the course of five years, the team received $12.7 million from the authority for repairs, maintenance, management, and operations (RMMO) fund, and spent only 9 percent on upkeep on the stadium.

Kietzman also reports that the team used only $1,540,390 in repairs for the building. And, he says, the JCSCA used $200,000 to pay payroll taxes on part-time employees. “By using the money for payroll taxes, the team literally collected taxpayer money to pay their own taxes,” Keitzman writes.