As a deadline approaches for a stadium deal between the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals, the Chiefs are soliciting requests for a 65,000-seat domed stadium near the Kansas Speedway.
The Chiefs have been negotiating with Kansas since a vote in Jackson County, Missouri, to renovate the stadium with a sales tax extension failed in April of 2024.
The Chiefs and Royals lobbied for a bill in the Kansas Statehouse that could fund up to 70% of the costs for a new stadium via sales taxes that they generate and from taxes levied on online sports betting.
KCMO talk radio host Pete Mundo broke the news that the Chiefs requested proposals for stadium designs for a 65,000-seat domed arena. Mundo said the team will whittle a list of proposals from ten firms to two finalists, but it doesn’t mean the Chiefs are certain to end up on the Kansas side of the border.
On Nov. 10, another Kansas City-area talk show host, Kevin Kietzman said the Chiefs were negotiating with NASCAR to buy land west of the Kansas Speedway in Kansas, City, Kansas.
The Kansas Department of Commerce has negotiated with the Chiefs and Royals, but have repeatedly stressed that negotiations are confidential.
Deadline approaching
Kansas lawmakers set a deadline of the end of the year for stadium negotiations. Kansas passed its bill authorizing the negotiations in July 2024, and over the summer extended its negotiating deadline to June 30, 2026, but set a self-imposed deadline of Dec. 31.
Mundo reported that the Chiefs are hoping to be down to two finalists by early next year.
Both teams’ leases end at the Jackson County Sports Complex in January 2031.
Chiefs could remain at Arrowhead
The sales tax extension in Jackson County, Missouri, would have funded a new Royals stadium and renovated Arrowhead, where the Chiefs currently play.
On Nov. 4, the Royals released a survey asking fans where they’d prefer a new stadium to be, which included Overland Park, Downtown Kansas City Missouri and North Kansas City.
Border war
The states competing for the two professional sports teams is reminiscent of the “border war,” where Kansas and Missouri offered rivaling tax incentives to businesses to attract them across the state line.
Jackson County, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, and the state of Missouri have offered their own proposals to the Chiefs and Royals.
On Nov. 12, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe proposed that the state could purchase a partial or retractable roof for the Chiefs at its current location.
The Show Me State has also offered a plan to cover up to 50% of the costs and provide $50 million in tax credits if they spend $500 million of their own dollars on stadium renovations.
The Kansas plan, on the other hand, could fund up to 70% of a stadium up to $3 billion for either team.
As reported in the Topeka Capital Journal
