Kansas politicians are renewing their efforts to bring the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals to the Sunflower State.
Lawmakers met on Monday and proposed amendments to an economic development program that would allow both teams to potentially relocate. The proposal would repeal a current House bill that allows STAR bond districts to fully fund professional sports venues in Kansas. That is with a minimum investment of $1 billion.
Up to two professional teams might then utilize the bonds to construct stadiums throughout the state.
Chiefs owner says leaving Arrowhead Stadium is an option after sales tax funding was rejected
The Kansas City Chiefs plan to explore options that include leaving Arrowhead Stadium after voters in Jackson County, Missouri, soundly rejected a sales tax initiative that would have helped to pay for renovations to the 52-year-old building.
The Chiefs and Royals, whose Kauffman Stadium shares the Truman Sports Complex with the football stadium, have relied on a three-eighths cent sales tax for upkeep. The franchises wanted to extend that tax with the Royals using their share of the money for a new downtown ballpark and the Chiefs envisioning an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead.
More than 58% of voters rejected the sales tax initiative after the campaign was met with criticism from all sides.
“Time is short for us at this point and so we need to see what other options are out there for us,″ Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said Saturday. “When we started on this process three years ago, it felt like we had a very long time — a long runway with about 9 1/2 (years) left on our lease. We’re now down to 6 1/2 and so I do feel very much of a sense of urgency.”
Hunt, whose father Lamar founded the Chiefs and helped to get Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums built, has always preferred to renovate a stadium that his father called one of his favorite places in the world. The Hunt family had promised to spend $300 million in private funds on the renovation with the remainder coming from public funding.
Now, the Chiefs are left to consider overtures from other locations. One of those could be just across the state line, where public officials in Kansas have made it clear that they would love to have the Chiefs on their side of the border.
