Missouri Gov. Parson to meet with local leaders about Royals, Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Governor Mike Parson is set to meet with community leaders from Jackson and Clay counties on Monday. Together with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, they intend to discuss options to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.

“I thought that this was over with!” said Chiefs fan Kelsie Gana. “I didn’t know this was still going on!”

In April, voters in Jackson County denied an extension to the sales tax that supports the Chiefs and Royals. Then, in June, the Kansas State Legislature overwhelmingly approved STAR bond legislation intended to entice the teams to build stadiums in the Sunflower State.

Fans of the teams are split when it comes to what state they’d rather see the teams play in.

“Stay in Missouri,” said one fan on Sunday.  “Of course, you have to stay in Missouri this is where it started!”

Another fan says the teams should move to the other side of the state line. “That’s our hometown, there’s nothing better than Kansas man, It don’t get no better than Kansas.”

JT Miller isn’t from Kansas City, but says that he believes Parson, Lucas and others should do everything to keep the teams in Missouri.

“Well, the big thing is if you have a pro team, especially a pro team with this stature and success, boy you want to keep them,” he said.

He fears that the teams would also look at options outside of Kansas City.

“It would really be a mistake if they got robbed to another city. There isn’t any other city that wouldn’t want them. I’m from Orlando, we will take them tonight!”

Others, like Gana, said that moving the teams would create tension between residents of the two states.

“I feel like if you move it across the state line … it’ll just be a little battle, I mean not that deep, but a little battle between the two,” she said.

While another fan said, as long as they were in town, they didn’t care what side of the line they were on.

“I mean, if they go either way, it’s the same thing.”