Chiefs May Stay In Missouri Despite Kansas’ Best Efforts

Though much of the attention has focused on Kansas’ push to serve as the next home for the Kansas City Chiefs, staying in Missouri remains a strong option.

“We are in some pretty significant conversations with leadership on the Missouri side,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said. “We are in discussions with the folks in Kansas. We are in discussions and continue our discussions with the folks in Missouri.”

The Chiefs’ current home — GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium — resides on the Missouri side of the border, but there had been speculation they’d jump to Kansas after that state’s governor, Laura Kelly, signed into law on June 21 an expansive plan to issue STAR (sales tax and revenue) bonds.

Kansas is one of three states that has this unique funding system, and under this proposal, state lawmakers would issue bonds for up to 70% of the estimated cost of the stadium project.

“We appreciate the effort that the Kansas legislature made to really supercharge STAR Bonds to make it make sense for a professional sports team to come over there and take advantage of that,” Donovan said. “We don’t take that for granted.”

According to this Kansas plan, some of the state’s retail sales tax from the stadium and surrounding business districts — in addition to lottery and sports betting dollars — would go toward paying off the stadium’s STAR bonds.

After the bonds would be paid off, which is supposed to take 30 years according to the plan, the sales tax from the district would be diverted to the state’s general fund.

Donovan, though, indicated it’s a long way from determining whether that STAR bond proposal is viable.

“There’s a lot of work to be done with Kansas to see what the reality of that is,” Donovan said. “The good news is that it creates more options.”

Donovan said staying at Arrowhead and renovating that structure “very much” remains one of those options.

Though Chiefs are under lease to continue playing there through the end of the 2030 season, Donovan realistically said they need to figure out a direction in the next six months.

“That’s the timeline we’re working on,” he said. “Six months from today, we’re going to have to have a really good idea where we are. We may not be done-done, but we need to have a really good idea.”

Another upcoming event that could factor in is the election to succeed current Missouri governor Mike Parson.

Parson is a huge Chiefs fan, but that didn’t prevent Missouri’s previous plan from failing.

By a measure of 58% to 42% in April, Jackson County, Mo. residents voted against the 3/8 cent sales tax to help fund the Kansas City Royals’ move to the East Crossroads district and the Chiefs’ renovations at their existing stadium.

One of the most vocal detractors was Jackson County executive Frank White, a five-time All-Star whose No. 20 was retired by the Royals

White had said the Royals and Chiefs were not transparent on the community benefits that would ensue, that the teams’ ownership should pay more of the bill and that the tax would have cost too much at $2 billion over 40 years.

“It’s just not an equitable situation,” White exclusively shared. “I can’t just rubber stamp this deal because I played sports. I was elected to be a good steward to the taxpayer dollars, and that’s my goal.”

Donovan said he met with White after the vote and had a good conversation.

There also has been discussion that sports betting, which is allowed in Kansas — but not Missouri — could impact the Chiefs’ decision on what to state to play in, but Donovan dismissed that notion.

“I don’t think that is a significant factor,” Donovan said. “If we get something done in Missouri, it’s something we’d be able to add to whatever we’re going to do here, but that’s not a big factor in making the decision one way or the other.”

Gambling issues aside, the stakes remain high regarding where the Chiefs will call home.

“This is going to impact the future of this franchise for generations,” Donovan said. “We’ve got to get it right and we are going to do the due diligence.”