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Minutes for SB400 - Committee on Transportation
Short Title
Providing for the sporting Kansas City distinctive license plate.
Minutes Content for Tue, Feb 6, 2024
Chairman Petersen called the meeting to order at 8:33 a.m. and opened the hearing on SB400.
Adam Siebers, Assistant Revisor, briefed the Committee on the bill (Attachment1). He said the bill provides for a new distinctive license plate--the Sporting Kansas City license plate, which would be subject to the 250 initial plate commitment and payment of up to $5000 for development costs. A royalty fee of $25 up to $100 would be determined by OnGoal LLC; the fees would be allocated to the Kansas City Soccer Foundation in support of The Victory Project.
John Federico, Federico/Duerst Consulting Group, testified as a proponent for the bill (Attachment 2). Noting that Sporting Kansas City is the state's only professional sports team, he traced the history of the team from Missouri to the Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas, and the construction of a $180- million soccer-specific venue, Children's Mercy Park; the park hosts professional, collegiate, and international soccer matches and provides global exposure to Kansas. He also noted a subsequent world-class training center that generates 1.3-million visitors and over 10,000 hotel room stays each year.
Lexie Clark, Executive Director, The Victory Project, spoke as a proponent for the bill (Attachment 3). She explained The Victory Project is a result of the soccer community's desire to support children battling cancer and to highlight the sport of soccer. She related how children dealing with cancer can be lifted emotionally by being feted by the soccer community as well as mitigating a family's financial barriers through annual grant allocations of $100,000 and $5000 scholarships for graduating high-school seniors.
A member's questions about current distinctive license plates elicited staff response: there are presently 68 specialty license plates; a plate sunsets if there are not enough users to merit its continuation.
The Chair closed the hearing on SB400.
