Kansas has awarded Overland Park more than $66 million in STAR bonds to build a supersized hockey arena and sports complex, jeopardizing prospects for a nearly identical project proposed 10 miles away in Olathe.
The decision, announced Thursday, came a few days after Overland Park submitted a study to the state showing if the dueling Johnson County hockey arenas were to be built, they would “cannibalize each other.” Developers of both projects have been seeking Kansas sales tax revenue, or STAR bonds — a major incentive program crucial to the financing of the ventures.
Now with Overland Park winning first approval from the Kansas Department of Commerce, Olathe’s project faces an uncertain future.
(Read more: Joco 913 News)