Missouri Senate Approves Aid, Seeks to Retain Chiefs and Royals
In a special session, the Missouri Senate approved a plan that will allocate more than $100 million in aid for the St. Louis area, affected by tornadoes. In addition, it authorized hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives to persuade the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals to remain in Missouri with new or renovated stadiums. The urgency in the decision is due to the Chiefs and Royals facing a deadline at the end of June to accept an offer from Kansas. At the same time, residents of St. Louis are struggling to recover from the May storms, which caused an estimated $1.6 billion in damage. The aid measures advanced after an agreement between Republican Governor Mike Kehoe and some lawmakers, including more funds for disaster relief and possible tax exemptions for some homeowners.The package also includes funding for construction projects across the state, such as $50 million for a nuclear research reactor used for cancer treatments at the University of Missouri.
The Senate approval represents a significant step forward, especially since the stadium incentives had stalled last month. Tornadoes struck St. Louis and other areas of Missouri on May 16.The future of the Chiefs and the Royals has been uncertain for a while. Currently, both teams play in adjacent stadiums in eastern Jackson County, Missouri, with contracts expiring in January 2031.
Last year, Jackson County voters rejected a sales tax extension that would have funded a $2 billion stadium district for the Royals in downtown Kansas City and an $800 million renovation of the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium.This led Kansas lawmakers to authorize bonds to cover up to 70% of the cost of new stadiums in their state.
The Missouri counterproposal would authorize bonds for up to 50% of the cost of stadium projects, in addition to providing up to $50 million in tax credits, along with unspecified support from local governments.AuBuchon highlighted other publicly funded stadium projects in Baltimore, New Orleans, Nashville, and Buffalo, New York.If the Chiefs stay in Missouri, they would likely begin a $1.15 billion plan to renovate Arrowhead Stadium and improve the team’s training facilities in 2027 or 2028, lasting three years.
Rich AuBuchon, Chiefs lobbyist
However, some economists argue that public funding for stadiums is not profitable, as sports tend to divert discretionary spending from other forms of entertainment rather than generate new revenue.
Jewell Patek, lobbyist for the Royals, said that even with state incentives, a planned stadium district would likely need voter approval for local tax incentives in Jackson or Clay counties, which couldn’t happen until later this year.Patek didn’t guarantee that the Royals would choose Missouri over Kansas, but added: “We love the community, we love the state… we believe this is a step in the right direction for the state of Missouri.”
