Without question, The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is going broke and offers a horrible reminder that Kansas City's redevelopment schemes have failed to support themselves year after year.
Even worse, The Canadian Press does a much better job covering the drama during the demise of the NLBM than Kansas City media outlets:
"Attendance and revenues are down, and a decision by new management to distance itself from O'Neil has splintered many of its most loyal supporters.Year after year Kansas City taxpayers continue to prop up this money loser that will never turn the corner. There was a time when this place might have been successful but so far there was been a failure to revitalize the surrounding neighborhood, no real biz development and one PR disaster after the next. The Ghost of Buck O'Neil can't support the place and in the midst of a budget crisis it's a shame that this place is a sacred cow while the rest of this town falls apart.
What's more, the recession has cut deeply into donations. After posting its first loss two years ago of about US$30,000, the museum is looking at what one staffer termed "a monster loss" that could approach a quarter of a million dollars when the final accounting for 2009 is complete. For a relatively small museum that has always depended on the kindness of others, $200,000 is seismic."
They need help from black athletes, rappers and entertainers to promote their licensing revenues.
ReplyDeleteIts not all that surprising when you remember that Greg Baker is the new executive director. He was a pompous ass when he worked at City Hall - everything he touched turned to mud, instead of gold. If you wanted to kill a project, the best strategy was to make sure that Baker was in charge of it. If the project had twelve votes to start with, it would have zero by the time he got done talking. He talked down to other black folks, which pissed people off, and was a kiss-ass with the white folks without being smart enough for them to give him any real respect. Not to mention that Emanuel Cleaver hates him, since Baker tried (and failed) to screw him over every chance he got when Cleaver was mayor. Appointing a guy hated by the local congressman was not the best of strategies for a museum that was relying on federal grant funds for expansion...
ReplyDeleteCleaver shouldn't be controlling anything. But that is what Keeps this place backwards.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 7:48.
ReplyDeletei agree with 7:48 from jan. 30 also, but 10:16 also has a great point. several people left the board in disgust over the appt and the museum will have a hard time attracting celebraties of any color from any area if the place isn't well run and well liked. not even ken burns will support it now who along with buck helped put it on the map.
ReplyDelete