Amendment to fund Chiefs, Royals stadiums passes in Missouri House

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Missouri lawmakers are making a last-ditch effort to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals from moving to Kansas.Behind the backing of Governor Mike Kehoe, lawmakers introduced an amendment to Senate Bill 80 that could have half the cost of stadium projects for the two teams be covered by bonds and additional aid.

The Missouri House approved the governor’s Hail Mary plan on Tuesday afternoon by a 103-42 margin.

“These are Missouri teams,” said Rep. Chris Brown (R-Kansas City). “They need to stay in Missouri.”

Amendment to fund Chiefs, Royals stadiums passes in Missouri House — FILE — Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium.(KCTV5)

The plan only benefits NFL and MLB teams, allowing them to make upgrades to existing stadiums or construct new stadiums.

“I don’t want to be part of the legislature that loses the Chiefs and the Royals,” Rep. Ashley Aune (D-Kansas City) added.

The plan allows teams to get a bond up to their current state tax revenue. That comes out to nearly $29 million for Chiefs and $26 million for the Royals. It also allows a 10% tax credit up to $50 million, and only up to half of the project.

There is a clawback trigger put in to protect Missouri: if a team relocates its stadium, headquarters or training facility to another state, the money will have to be returned.

The program would last up to 30 years.

Senate Bill 80 now heads to the Missouri Senate.

“It’s come to a head right now, and unfortunately, it seems like Missouri’s waited until the 11th hour to do something about it,” Aune said.

State Rep. Del Taylor, a Democrat from St. Louis, denounced “fearmongering” suggestions that the Chiefs and Royals might also leave, calling it “unfair” and “conniving” to come to lawmakers with a plan so late in the session.

The bill comes just a year after a vote failed that would’ve paved the way for a new Royals stadium in the Crossroads and allowed for renovations to Arrowhead Stadium. For the past year, the Royals and Chiefs have said they’ve begun exploring options separately with each franchise working on their own plans and timelines.

On Tuesday, the Royals provided KCTV with a statement, noting they appreciated the efforts made by the Missouri Legislature.

Kansas legislators saw that as an opportunity to lure the teams to the Sunflower State with a bill. Governor Laura Kelly signed the STAR Bonds bill to attract a professional sports team using the Sales Tax and Revenue Bonds to finance a major development such as a new stadium or practice facility. The STAR Bonds program is set to expire on June 30, 2025.

Royals owner John Sherman has said the team will make a decision on its future stadium site in the June-July period. Before the 2025 season began, he said he would not comment on Washington Square Park in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, or the old Sprint campus in the area of 119th Street and Nall Avenue in Overland Park as a preference for a stadium.

Clay County lawmakers are hoping the team will reconsider North Kansas City as a location for a ballpark district and stadium after initially being in the running more than a year ago.

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt talked about the team’s future in October. He said he was hopeful to have more of a plan by the spring, but not a finalized plan, more of a direction they are going.

The Chiefs have said that the real deadline for the team is February 2031, when the lease ends at the Truman Sports Complex.

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