Missouri governor says new public aid plan in the works for Chiefs, Royals stadiums

On Thursday, Missouri Governor Mike Parson stated that he anticipates the state to develop an aid package by year’s end. The goal is to prevent the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals from relocating to new stadiums in Kansas. The statement was made in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Missouri’s renewed efforts come after Kansas approved a plan last week that would finance up to 70% of the cost of new stadiums for the professional football and baseball teams.

Parson, while presenting the Chiefs’ two most recent Super Bowl trophies at the Capitol and amidst fans queuing for photos, assured reporters, “We are committed to offering the best business deal possible.”

“Frankly, I don’t fault Kansas for making an attempt,” Parson continued. “Honestly, if I were in their position, I’d likely do the same. However, when all is said and done, we will be competitive.”

For over 50 years, the Chiefs and Royals have been playing in adjacent stadiums located in eastern Kansas City, attracting fans from both states in the divided metropolitan area. Their stadium leases are valid until 2031. However, John Sherman, the owner of the Royals, has stated that the team will not continue to play at Kauffman Stadium after the 2030 season, indicating a preference for a new downtown stadium.

Questions about the teams’ future intensified after Jackson County, Missouri, voters in April rejected a sales tax that would have helped fund a more than $2 billion downtown ballpark district for the Royals and an $800 million renovation of the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium.

The tax plan encountered numerous challenges. Some fans of the Royals favored the team’s existing location. There were also those who objected to the tax itself. Furthermore, some had reservations about the new stadium plans, which were altered just weeks before the vote.

The emergence of Kansas as an alternative raised the stakes for Missouri officials and repeated a common pattern among professional sports teams, which often leverage one site against another in an effort to get the greatest public subsidies for new or improved stadiums.

Sports teams are pushing a new wave of stadium construction across the U.S., going beyond basic repairs to derive fresh revenue from luxury suites, dining, shopping and other developments surrounding their stadiums. On Tuesday, the city of Jacksonville, Florida, approved a $1.25 billion stadium renovation plan for the NFL’s Jaguars that splits the cost between the city and team.

Numerous economists claim that although stadiums might increase tax revenue in their local vicinity, they typically divert consumer spending from other entertainment sources and rarely produce sufficient new economic activity to compensate for all the public subsidies.

Parson compared the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals to large corporations like Boeing, Ford, and General Motors that have received public assistance, stating they are “big business.” However, he emphasized that any agreement must be financially beneficial to Missouri’s taxpayers, saying it “has to work out on paper.”

“By the end of this year, I believe we will have a proposal ready for the stadiums,” said Parson.

Missouri’s plan, which is still undefined, would probably need legislative approval. However, Parson doesn’t foresee calling a special legislative session before his term concludes in January. Therefore, any plan that Parson’s administration develops in collaboration with Kansas City area officials would also require the backing of the incoming governor and a new set of lawmakers.

Kansas has recently passed a financing law, opening the way for discussions between sports teams and the Kansas Department of Commerce. However, the department has not set a timeline for finalizing a deal, according to spokesperson Patrick Lowry, who made the statement on Thursday.

Copyright 2024 by The Associated Press