Last month, voters in Jackson County, Missouri declined to extend a local sales tax that would have paid for stadium renovations for the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals.
As a result, a movement began, spearheaded by several Kansas lawmakers, to attempt to get the Chiefs to move across the state lines.
Members of the Republican-led Kansas state legislature proposed a bill this week that would have allowed for the authorization of more than $1 billion in bonds to cover the construction of stadiums for both Kansas City teams.
However, the matter was not brought up for a vote, according to the Associated Press, due to a variety of concerns.
“Some critics derided the plan as corporate welfare. Others were receptive but didn’t want to pass the proposal until the Legislature approved a broad package of tax cuts for their constituents that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly would sign, which didn’t happen either,” the AP wrote.
The dream is not done yet though, with Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita Republican, saying he and his constituents are “serious” about luring the Chiefs over the border.
“We just need a little time on it. We’ll be OK,” Masterson said.
Recently, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said the team must be prepared for all outcomes, including potentially leaving beloved Arrowhead Stadium.
“We will approach it from a broader perspective going forward because time is short for us at this point and so we need to see what other options are out there for us,” Hunt said, via ESPN. “When we started on this process three years ago, it felt like we had a very long time, a long runway with about 9½ [years] left on our lease. We’re now down to 6½ and so I do feel very much of a sense of urgency.
“Arrowhead is a special place for our family and our fan base. That was one of the reasons that we focused on it with the last effort, but going forward it may make more sense for us to be in a new stadium.”
For now, the Chiefs and Royals’ current leases run through the 2030 season.