Does Hunt take an offer from Missouri or an offer from Kansas?
The owner of the National Football League Kansas City Chiefs franchise, Clark Hunt, claimed there is no timeline in making a decision on where the franchise is going to call home in 2032 because time takes time. “I wouldn’t say we’re in limbo. Stadium projects move at their own pace,” Hunt said. “We’ve learned over the years that you can’t really force them to go faster, even if you want them to. And so it’s just important for us to keep working on both options.” Hunt has a pleasant problem. Does he stay in Jackson County, Missouri or go to nearby Kansas? Kansas politicians are giving Hunt some time to study if it makes sense to take the Kansas subsidy offer to move to the state. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe signed a bill that would give state money to keep Hunt’s business in his state..
The stadium problem began in April 2024 when Jackson County, Missouri voters said no to extending a sales tax that would have funded a Major League Baseball Kansas City Royals’ downtown stadium and a renovation of Hunt’s Chiefs’ football venue. Kansas lawmakers approved a proposal that would see STAR bonds used to help pay 75% of the cost of building two stadiums in Kansas. Additionally, sports gambling and lottery gaming and sales tax revenue from businesses in the stadium development districts would cover bond debt. Another source of revenue to pay off the debt would come from a liquor tax. Kansas lawmakers could use a mechanism that would allow up to 100% of sales tax revenue on alcoholic liquor sales within a stadium district to pay off bonds for the structures. Missouri politicians will pay up to 50 percent of the construction costs of two venues in an attempt to keep the baseball and football businesses in the state.
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