Chiefs, Royals Stadium Plans Hit Political Wall As Both Parties Say No

Even in a sharply divided political climate, opposing stadium funding has become a bipartisan issue, at least in Missouri. 

Soon after Gov. Mike Kehoe called a June 2 special legislative session, in part to review a potential stadium bond measure for the NFL’s Chiefs and MLB’s Royals, opposition has mounted from both the political right and left to the effort and potentially could derail it. 

The state’s conservative Freedom Caucus has said it is a “hard no” on what it considers a billionaire bailout. The bill under consideration would allow the teams to bond up to the annual amount they generate in state tax revenue over 30 years, in turn funding up to half of new or upgraded stadiums. The caucus, however, is seeking broad-based tax relief and has threatened to tie up the bill in procedural blocks.

“If Gov. Kehoe and legislative leaders insist on using taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars for a half billion-dollar (or more) handout to billionaire sports team owners in a standalone bill, the Missouri Freedom Caucus will vote against such a proposal and will consider utilizing any tools at its disposal to stop it,” the organization said.

Democrats, meanwhile, have a separate objection that Kehoe’s bills for the special session include just $25 million in emergency disaster recovery funds for a St. Louis area that was recently battered by tornadoes—an amount far less than what’s contemplated for the stadiums.

“The [stadium] conversation can’t even begin until serious disaster relief is considered,” state Sen. Stephen Webber told the Missouri Independent. “Why do I care about a billionaire’s stadium when people have lost their homes? There’s absolutely no way we’re going to serve a billionaire a feast and leave crumbs for people who just lost their homes. That’s not happening.”

The Missouri sports consideration is happening as Kansas has already made competing pitches to bring the Chiefs and Royals across the state border. The Kansas bond program, signed last year and standing as a key part of that state’s pitch for the teams, expires June 30, further adding to the drama set to build in the coming weeks. Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has said he intends to settle the team’s future stadium plans “by summer at the latest.”

Intrigue in Illinois

A separate NFL stadium consideration, meanwhile, is carrying its own heightened drama. As the Bears are turning their attention back to suburban Arlington Heights as a site for a new domed stadium, there is reportedly more discussion happening with state officials about potential public funding than previously understood. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has previously and tersely said, “Right now, there’s no building any new stadiums” in the state. A new report in the Chicago Tribune, however, said Pritzker has spent $100,000 in public funds on an outside legal consultant to aid in discussions with the Bears. The team, meanwhile, has brought in an outside adviser with ties to the governor and other top Democratic state leaders. 

Whether that leads to any sort of actual legislation remains to be seen, particularly as the Bears have sought taxpayer help for roughly half of a proposed $4.7 billion project, and political resistance in Illinois will likely mirror what’s happening in Missouri. Dialogue, however, is happening.

“The governor’s office felt it was important to conduct due diligence and fully understand all the facts that could impact state taxpayers,” Pritzker spokesman Matt Hill told the Tribune.