After more than two years of uncertainty, multiple setbacks, and detours, the twin stadium sagas of the NFL’s Chiefs and MLB’s Royals could soon reach an endgame. 

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has called a special session of the state legislature beginning June 2 to review a bill that 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. Local governments would also be required to participate in the stadium efforts beyond this state-level bill.

“If Missouri does not put some sort of offer forward, I think the risk is real that they don’t stay here,” Kehoe said. 

The move arrives as neighboring Kansas has already conveyed its interest in bringing one or both teams over the border. There are plenty of delicate politics involved, however, as Jackson County, Mo., voters soundly rejected stadium funding last year for the teams through a sales-tax initiative, and again, there is reticence among some state legislators about supporting private sports teams. That sentiment also exists against a backdrop of recent and severe tornado damage in the St. Louis area.

“I love the Kansas City Chiefs. I’m obnoxious during football season,” state Rep. Darin Chappell, a Republican from Rogersville, said in a recent interview with KSGF-FM. “But I’ve got constituents trying to pay their rent and feed themselves, and they’re struggling. And I’m going to take their money and give it to billionaires so multimillionaires can play in a prettier place? That’s obscene.”

The special legislative session will also include consideration of disaster relief funding in the state. 

“If they move out of our state, the significant effect it’s going to have on our state’s economy is massive,” Kehoe said of the Chiefs and Royals. “This isn’t just about football and baseball. This is about economic development. These are two organizations that have businesses, employees, and a ripple effect on our state’s economy that we do not want to move.”

The special session, meanwhile, is also in keeping with the goal of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt for the team to decide its stadium future “by summer at the latest.” The teams’ current stadium leases expire in 2031. 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. 

Larger Stakes

Both potential projects carry implications well beyond the Kansas City area. The Chiefs have become the NFL’s most-watched team, a status reinforced in the recently released 2025 NFL schedule, and have aspirations of remaining a dominant force across the league, both on and off the field. Being in a modern new venue, whether it be a new one or a substantially renovated Arrowhead Stadium, would help ensure that. 

The Royals, meanwhile, have returned to competitive prominence after a marked lull following the club’s 2015 World Series title. As economic imbalance in MLB continues to accelerate, the John Sherman–led franchise will undoubtedly need the enhanced revenues of a new ballpark to help keep up with the sport’s economic powers. 

ORLANDO — While the college football world debates what the next iteration of its postseason should look like, March Madness expansion remains on the minds of top college basketball leaders.

On the first day of the Big 12’s spring meetings, Kansas coach Bill Self said expanding the NCAA tournament beyond 68 teams was discussed among the conference’s men’s basketball coaches Wednesday morning—and that the idea has support.

“There was a little bit that was brought forth, and the consensus among the coaches was—even though it was very little—was [that] we would be in favor of it,” Self said. “I don’t know the number we’d go to. But I do know that there’s discussions about that.”

In March, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said he was in favor of expanding March Madness to 76 teams. However, that came with a financial caveat. “CBS and TNT have a marquee asset with the tournament,” he said of the men’s tournament’s media-rights holders. “I know they know that, but in order for us to expand, they have to come to the table and provide the right economics.”

One question on potential expansion is whether the women’s NCAA tournament would follow suit. 

Self’s counterpart at Kansas, women’s basketball coach Brandon Schneider, wasn’t as forthright about the topic. “I don’t know that there’s a group vibe,” Schneider said of how the Big 12’s women’s basketball coaches feel about expansion. “I don’t know how far along we are in that actually happening.”

Both the men’s March Madness media-rights deals and the women’s with ESPN will expire in 2032, leaving open the opportunity for the two to be packaged and sold together, and potentially expand at the same time.

The lack of on-track excitement at the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix led to drivers and team principals clamoring for changes after the race. The prestigious Formula One event, however, still brought in a record U.S. audience.

Sunday’s race in Monaco, which aired at 9 a.m. ET, drew 2.3 million viewers on ABC, the most-watched iteration of the event in the U.S., up from 2 million last year. It’s the third-most-watched F1 race in the U.S., behind the Miami Grand Prix in 2024 (3.1 million) and 2022 (2.6 million). It is also the most-watched F1 race so far this year, drawing more than this year’s Miami Grand Prix (2.1 million).

Monaco Grand Prix Viewership 

• 2025: 2.3 million (ABC)
• 2024: 2.0 million (ABC)
• 2023: 1.8 million (ABC)
• 2022: 1.4 million (ESPN)
• 2021: 934,000 (ESPN2)

F1 is averaging 1.3 million viewers so far through seven races on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2, ahead of the last two years that finished with 1.1 million viewers. The F1 season, however, does see more dips in U.S. viewership in the back half of the year, with Miami and Monaco as two of the biggest draws.

Change Needed

Overtaking has been difficult in Monaco for the last few years, particularly in 2024 when there were just four overtakes and the top 10 at the start of the race remained unchanged by the end. 

F1 added a rule change this year aimed at delivering additional intrigue. Teams were required to use three sets of tires rather than the standard two, which would mean more pit stops. The change failed to deliver its desired outcome as there was just one legal overtake during Sunday’s race.

There may be more changes to come, though it’s unclear what will allow for more overtaking in the street race. 

“I’m not pretending I have a solution. But I cannot say what happened was good for the sport,” Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said Sunday. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggested there should be a change in the layout of the track to allow for at least one area for overtaking.

One solution that is off the table is to move on from Monaco. Late last year, F1 extended its contract to race in Monaco until 2031.