City, MODOT ready for All-Star festivities - KCTV5

Kansas City and the Missouri Department of Transportation are sprucing up the area in anticipation of July's All-Star festivities at Kauffman Stadium and downtown Kansas City.

The hope is to have the Kansas City area clean and pristine for Major League Baseball's summer spectacular.

MODOT maintenance crews are working to repave highways and pick up litter and trash.

"We know all eyes are going to be on Kansas City during those few days so we want to make Kansas City shine," said Chris Redline, an assistant district engineer for MODOT.

He and his 40 staffers are devoted to the preparations.

"We knew we had to get the grass trimmed up, get the trash picked up, animals picked up and everything looking nice," Redline said.

MODOT officials are confident they will have the area around the stadium looking spic and span in advance of the first arrivals.

Kansas City is spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars. The Kansas City Area Convention and Visitors Association will get $350,000, which includes $50,000 for marketing.

The city's expenses include police and fire overtime costs, extra surveillance cameras and event planning. Altogether, the city will spend $1.3 million.

Watch parties, the Fan Fest and other events will feature Kansas City. A local communications firm will receive $70,000 for evening planning assistance.

Danny Rotert, a spokesman for Kansas City Mayor Sly James, said the costs are reasonable. He also said taxes and other spending will help recover Kansas City's costs.

"It really is a pretty reasonable price to pay and we ought to see a huge bang for our buck," Rotert said. "The old axiom is true. You have to spend money to make money and we're bringing a world show that no city would turn down having, frankly."

Jackson County and the Truman Sports Complex also have their own costs.

Copyright 2012 KCTV (Meredith Corp.)  All rights reserved.