Kansas OK'd incentives for Chiefs and Royals in June. What have they said since?

The Kansas City Chiefs will have its first regular season game in just a little over a month, and the Kansas City Royals will finish the 2024 season a couple months after that.

But behind the scenes, a political game is being played over the future home of the franchises.

The competition between neighboring states started in April, after a proposed renewal of a 3/8-cent sales tax in Jackson County, Missouri, failed to secure a majority of votes. The Kansas Legislature responded by quickly creating an incentive package for the teams during its special session in June.

Kansas's offer could finance up to 70% of construction on a new stadium, which would be paid off through the sales taxes collected in and around the stadium. The bill passed with supermajority support from both chambers before Gov. Laura Kelly signed it into law.

"The new law directs Lieutenant Governor Toland — as Secretary of Commerce — to lead all negotiations with the Chiefs and/or Royals. Because all major economic development projects require discretion and confidentiality, the department will not disclose any details regarding the activity surrounding negotiations or future agreements," said Patrick Lowry, director of marketing and communications for the Kansas Department of Commerce.

Negotiations with Kansas officials are behind closed doors, but there have been glimpses of the team’s future in the weeks since Kansas got in the game.

Jackson County, Missouri, still trying

The Jackson County Legislature rejected one of two proposals to keep the Chiefs in the county in an 8-1 vote on Monday. That proposal would’ve levied a 1/8-cent sales tax over 25 years to renovate GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which would have generated an estimated $400 million for renovations to the Chiefs’ stadium.

The remaining proposal is similar to what voters rejected in April, levying a 3/8-cent sales tax over 40 years, but the latest version doesn’t cut in the Royals on the roughly $4 billion it would generate. The renovations to Arrowhead are estimated to cost about $800 million.

What have the Chiefs said about the future?

Officials at the Chiefs have also alluded to their future since the border war ignited for the Chiefs. Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt said it’s “premature” to consider moving away from Arrowhead at this point.

“We do have six-and-a-half years left on our lease at Arrowhead, and GEHA Field at Arrowhead is a special place. It’s special for our fans, and it’s special for the players and the coaches, but we do have to look to the future and we do need a solution starting in 2031,” Hunt told reporters during the Chiefs’ training camp, according to Sports Illustrated.

Hunt said he’s appreciative of Kansas lawmakers giving a potential path to building a new stadium across state lines, but that the Chiefs are exploring all options. That could include a new stadium on either side of the border or renovations to Arrowhead.

“Part of our evaluation over the next several months and coming years will be looking at whether we’re better off in a renovated building or in a new stadium,” Hunt said.

But the clock is ticking for the Chiefs, with the organization's representatives telling Kansas lawmakers that stadiums can take years from conception to construction. Two weeks ago, Chiefs president Mark Donovan gave a six-month timeline until decision is made about the team’s future. Donovan noted building a new stadium would take about a year and a half of additional work compared to renovating the current stadium.

“We feel like we're in that window right now. We feel like we need to get something done in the next six months to figure out and be in a good position, so that's the timeline we're working on, " Donovan told reporters at the Chiefs training camp.

Royals weighing options

Unlike the Chiefs, the Royals aren’t considering renovating Kaughman Stadium and are only looking at a new stadium. The team narrowed its search on the Missouri side to North Kansas City and the East Village of downtown Kansas City.

Officials from Wyandotte County in Kansas and Clay County in Missouri have signaled that they would be open to negotiate with the Royals about relocating. The Royals proposed a downtown stadium in the April vote, which would be hard to recreate outside of Kansas City, Kansas.

The Village West area, which lawmakers touted as a success story for state incentives for sports teams, is already home to the Kansas City Monarchs, a minor league team.

Missouri politicians are less eager to play ball

Politicians across the state line aren’t as eager to offer subsidies to the Chiefs as Kansas was, where the Legislature worked quickly to create targeted subsidies for the Chiefs.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, said he wants to keep the Chiefs and has helped organize meeting with Kansas City, Missouri; Jackson County; and state officials to discuss plans. But the term-limited Parson may be out of office by the time a deal is struck, and several gubernatorial candidates have distanced themselves from incentive packages for sports teams.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who for much of the race was considered a front-runner, publicly opposed taxpayer subsidies for sports teams. Missouri state Sen. Bill Eigel agreed with Ashcroft, saying he hopes the Chiefs “make the right decision and remain in Missouri” but that he wouldn’t support subsidizing them.

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe is the lone Republican in the race who supports potential subsidies, saying that he would use all the tools available to him to avoid Kansas “poaching” their businesses.

Polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight show the race is neck and neck, with Ashcroft and Kehoe tied with about 24% of the vote each, compared to Eigel’s 15%.

The two Democratic candidates vying for the governorship, state Rep. Crystal Quade and businessman Mike Hamra, have said they’ll explore their options to keep the Chiefs in the state. However, either Democratic candidate will have an uphill battle. In 2020, Parson won 57% of the vote compared to 40% for Democratic challenger Nicole Galloway.

Kansas City mayor still trying to keep the teams

Quinton Lucas, mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, supported the failed sales tax extension in April and has continued to advocate for keeping the Chiefs and Royals in the city.

Lucas has, however, voiced frustration over how the proposal from Kansas could reignite an economic border war where the states offer competing incentive packages to move state lines.

Two weeks ago, he told KCUR that he feels “pressure” to keep the teams in Kansas City, Missouri, as negotiations continue.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas City Chiefs and Royals 'weighing option' after STAR Bonds pass