Highlights
- Kansas Republicans avoided $1 billion bond vote for the Chiefs and Royals relocation, opting for tax relief first.
- Missouri voters shut down a $2 billion sales tax fund for new stadiums, sparking interest from neighboring states.
- Chiefs offered partial funding for an $800 million renovation; the Royals seek public funding for a $2 billion stadium.
The political vultures are circling on the Missouri-Kansas border as various lawmakers try to make a name (and money) for themselves using the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.
According to the Associated Press, Kansas lawmakers opted not to vote on authorizing $1 billion in bonds to lure both sports teams across county lines from their current homes in Missouri. Although Kansas Republicans held off the voting, many are still scheming, like Senate President and Wichita Republican Ty Masterson, who stated:
We just need a little time on it – we’ll be OK. I mean, we’re serious about trying to incentivize the Chiefs to come our direction.
With multiple states and cities involved, this will turn ugly unless both teams remain in Missouri. Both teams are contracted to remain in Missouri through through January 31, 2031. Here’s a breakdown of where the complicated issue stands today.
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This hornets’ nest was first stirred to life when Missouri voters smartly opposed providing an estimated $2 billion in sales tax money to fund new stadiums for both the football and baseball teams. Since then, everyone from the mayor of Dallas to sniveling politicians in the region has conspired to throw their hats in the ring.
Republican-controlled Kansas demurred on a vote thanks to the optics of providing billions in public funds to billionaires while local people continue to struggle.
Therefore, those same Kansas lawmakers want to offer broad tax cuts to the people before handing hundreds of millions of taxpayer money to some of the richest people in America. As Masterson admitted:
It was just a concern of running it (the vote) before we gave real tax relief to our constituents – kind of that juxtaposed look of what appears to be corporate welfare before you’re getting tax relief to the people.
Unfortunately for them, Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has signaled she would likely veto said tax cuts and called for lawmakers to pass a tax plan she would sign. For now, the Chiefs are closely monitoring the situation, happy to rattle their bejeweled saber CEO Clark Hunt:
We’ll be in a situation where we go back to the drawing board. I do feel very much a sense of urgency, and we will approach it from a broader perspective going forward.
Many economic studies conducted estimated the benefits of taxpayer-funded stadiums at roughly the square root of zilch. Of course, that’s not the case for politicians who conveniently find ways to line their pockets throughout the process, as multiple Kansas lawmakers without ulterior motives made clear.
Senator Tom Holland described the proposal as “economic development for millionaires,” adding that using public funds for stadiums was “total foolishness”. The only part he got wrong was “millionaires”. Senator Dennis Pyle piled on, saying:
We’ve got a lot of priorities in Kansas, and I’m not sure that’s one of them.
The Chiefs have committed $300 million toward an $800 million renovation, while the Royals promised $1 billion toward a $2 billion brand-new stadium. In all likelihood, the Chiefs will sadly squeeze some money out of taxpayers to stay in the area. However, the Royals appear more geared for a move if they can’t bully taxpayers into funding their new stadium.
Source: AP
All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.
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