Visitors to Wichita's new baseball stadium should expect to pay a little more for some purchases made there.
The Wichita City Council on Tuesday approved a 2 percent sales tax within a newly established Community Improvement District, or CID, encompassing the area around the stadium and parts of the east bank of the Arkansas River.
Revenue from the additional sales tax in the district will pay for the $75 million baseball stadium and riverfront improvements. The city is also using Sales Tax Revenue (STAR) bonds, tax increment financing and general obligation bonds to fund the project.
The pay-as-you-go CID will last for 22 years. If the state approves it, the sales tax will be in place in time for the stadium’s opening in April.
The district spans the river west to Sycamore between Douglas and Kellogg, as well as the WaterWalk area to the east. Businesses along Douglas in the Delano Neighborhood fall outside the boundaries.
The CID will, however, include the Ballpark Village, a new multi-million dollar development planned for north of the stadium. The development group Riverfront Partners LLC will build up to 500,000 square feet of hotel, retail and commercial space on the seven acres where the Metropolitan Baptist Church currently sits.
The church sold the land to Riverfront Partners. An affiliate of the development group also purchased a little more than three acres to the west of the stadium and is selling the site to the city, which says it will use it for parking.
