Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley is weighing in on whether the Chiefs and Royals should stay in Missouri or move to Kansas. He said he wants to see both teams stay put, but supports April’s “no” vote from Jackson County citizens on extending a 3/8th cent sales tax that would have gone toward “stadium improvments.”
“I know (the Chiefs and Royals) want all manner of tax breaks and handouts, but listen, I think the voters have made clear they’re not going to (accept that),” Hawley told Missourinet. “They love these teams, (but) they’re not going to give them some special sweetheart deal, a whole bunch of taxpayer money that voters never get paid back.”
Hawley said he hopes the Royals and Chiefs will “honor what…Missourians” have done for them.
“These are proud Missouri teams, have been for decades. Nobody has done more for them than the people of the region,” he said. “That’s the reality here, and I just hope these teams will do the right thing.”
Meanwhile, the Jackson County Legislature is scheduled to consider a bill Monday that would create a 3/16th cent sales tax that would go towards keeping the Chiefs, but not the Royals, in Missouri. If passed by county lawmakers, voters would get the final say in November.
Last week, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signed a bill to authorize special bonds to fund new stadiums for both the Chiefs and Royals in the Sunflower State.
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