AEG already operates the Monarchs in Manchester, that's why they're not interested in Sprint Center for any franchise, the other opposition in KC is Sylvester James being convinced it's viable.
Some of these posts are kind of correct, but not completely.
The arena was NOT built for an NHL franchise. The arena was built as part of a complete downtown restoration. AEG got control of the arena and Cordish was able to build the Power & Light District -- an area across the street from the arena with bars and restaurants. While the arena does make money for AEG and some of that money is shared with the city, the P&L district is a drain on city coffers. If, for instance, the arena produces $2M in revenue for the city, the P&L district loses $8M. The P&L district loses money because there isn't enough foot traffic, especially on weeknights. The model for the P&L district only works if there are 42 dates at the arena with 14,000+ per date. But, AEG doesn't care about that because they have no financial stake in the district. Would the district make money if there were 41 dates with 7,000+ for AHL hockey? We'll never know. (The KC Blades of the IHL generally drew 7,000 avg.)
It's a nice bit of deception AEG does when they promote how the arena makes a profit.
Sly James is a non-factor in all of this. There really isn't anything he can do. He's neither convinced or non-convinced the NHL is viable. He's focused on other things because he can't do anything about Sprint Center (other than try to attract political conventions)