Missouri lawmakers are to kick off a special session Monday to consider aid for tornado victims and a package of financial incentives aimed at keeping the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals from leaving the state for new or improved facilities in neighboring Kansas.
Gov. Mike Kehoe announced the special session Tuesday, less than two weeks after a deadly tornado hit St. Louis and the Legislature wrapped up its work without giving final approval to a late-developing plan that would authorize state bonds for the Chiefs and Royals valued at up to half the cost of the stadium projects.
Missouri officials are scrambling to come up with an offer because Kansas lawmakers last year authorized bonds for up to 70% of the cost of new stadiums, paying them off over 30 years with revenues from sports betting, Kansas Lottery ticket sales, and new sales and alcohol taxes.
The Chiefs and Royals have played professional football and baseball for five decades in side-by-side stadiums in eastern Kansas City in Jackson County, Missouri, drawing fans from both sides of the split metropolitan area. Their stadium leases run until 2031, and Royals owner John Sherman has said the team won’t play at Kauffman Stadium beyond the 2030 season.
Jackson County voters turned down a sales tax extension last year that would have helped finance a $2 billion ballpark district for the Royals in downtown Kansas City and an $800 million renovation of the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium. That prompted Kansas officials to put together an offer and forced Missouri officials to recalculate their plans.
The Chiefs and Royals are part of a new round of stadium construction that is underway for professional sports teams across the U.S., with taxpayers often helping to pay the multibillion-dollar tabs.
Many economists contend public funding for stadiums isn’t worth it, because sports tend to divert discretionary spending away from other forms of entertainment rather than generate new income. But Kehoe said the teams provide a major economic benefit. Supporters of the projects also point to the sense of community and national attention that sports teams can bring, noting the three recent Super Bowls won by the Chiefs and the Royals' World Series title a decade ago.
