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The NFL’s Chiefs and MLB’s Royals will very soon have some monumental decisions to make as Missouri’s Senate approved stadium funding for both franchises.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, during a special session called last week by Gov. Mike Kehoe, the Missouri Senate passed a funding bill by a 19–13 vote that will support up to half the cost of new or renovated facilities for the teams. The measure had previously faced fierce bipartisan opposition, but a coalition of Democrats ultimately got behind the measure, particularly after Kehoe agreed to several other measures, such as additional disaster relief for tornado-stricken areas around St. Louis and more property-tax relief in the state.
The bill, allowing the teams to bond against their state tax payments, now moves to the Missouri House, where passage is also expected and would, in turn, send it back to Kehoe for his signature.
“We appreciate legislators working together to use this as an opportunity to show up for our communities by acting swiftly to help those in crisis, while also making smart decisions that secure opportunity for the future,” Kehoe said in a statement.
The Missouri stadium funding, an elusive element since Jackson County voters strongly rejected a sales tax measure last year, is now poised to stand up against rival bids from neighboring Kansas, which has already approved bonding to help lure the teams across the border.
That Kansas bonding, however, expires at the end of the month, meaning that decisions on the team’s facility futures could be weeks away. Along similar lines, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt recently said he wants to settle the team’s future stadium plans “by summer at the latest.”
Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas, who is actively trying to keep the teams from moving out of state, praised the Senate’s move to fund “competitiveness for sports and entertainment retention and attraction in Missouri.”
Neither team has committed to staying in Missouri, and they are looking to take in all the relevant information as they move closer to deciding where to play after their current stadium leases expire in 2031. A Front Office Sports source familiar with the teams’ thinking said the Chiefs and Royals view the Senate vote as “super positive” and “a big win,” but will likely refrain from making any formal comment until after the legislative process is complete.
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