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Kansas City Chiefs the subject of fresh moves as stadium battle goes on

06 June 2024 , 05:00
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Kansas City Chiefs play their games at Arrowhead Stadium, but their future home is the subject of much speculation (Image: Getty Images)
Kansas City Chiefs play their games at Arrowhead Stadium, but their future home is the subject of much speculation (Image: Getty Images)

Prominent Kansas politicians have ramped up overtures to entice the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs, offering concessions to shape a state-funded stadium blueprint in Kansas.

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson divulged on Tuesday that they would consider the proposition during a specially convened session on June 18. The duo invited the Chiefs "to weigh in on" the plan, penning a communication on May 23 to Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt; the leaders made public the letter on Tuesday.

This move comes as the newly-founded Kansas nonprofit group, " Scoop and Score," kick-started a campaign championing for the Chiefs' relocation from Missouri to the heartland of Kansas.

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The group has launched an online petition targeted at the legislature, disseminated text messages stressing that the Chiefs "deserve a permanent home in Kansas," and commissioned 20 lobbyists, including high-profile contract lobbyists and a former House Speaker, to advocate for its interests within the Statehouse.

After voters within the Missouri area of the Kansas City region categorically declined to prolong a local sales tax, which had been instrumental in maintaining the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium and the Kauffman Stadium - home to the Kansas City Royals baseball team - Kansas officials spotted an opportunity for wooing their cross-border football heroes.

"Your insights and expertise are invaluable in shaping the success of this project," Hawkins and Masterson expressed in their correspondence. "Your organisation's stature and experience in professional sports will help shape our understanding and ensure that this initiative aligns with the interests of all stakeholders involved."

The lobbyists signing up to advocate for Scoop and Score include Ron Ryckman Jr. , a Kansas City-area entrepreneur and former Kansas House speaker from 2017 to 2022.

Paje Resner, his one-time legislative chief of staff, also joined the lobbying efforts and is listed as the group's incorporator in its state-filed articles of incorporation dated May 13.

Kansas City Chiefs the subject of fresh moves as stadium battle goes onKansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt has hinted that the team could leave Arrowhead Stadium (Getty Images)

In April, Hunt informed journalists that the Chiefs would adopt "a broader perspective" on the team's future home following the Missouri vote. The Chiefs had been eyeing their slice of the local sales tax revenue to fund an $800 million refurbishment of Arrowhead Stadium.

Hawkins, Masterson, and other GOP members of the Kansas Legislature back a plan to finance new stadium bonds using sales and alcohol taxes collected within a specified district surrounding the stadium. This approach mirrors the funding strategy used by the state and Kansas City, Kansas, authorities for the NASCAR Kansas Speedway and the nearby retail and entertainment complex.

Hawkins and Masterson stressed in their communication: "We are poised to make the Kansas City Chiefs even stronger," adding that "It also promises to be a victory for Kansas taxpayers and a game-changer for our state's economy."

Despite previous attempts by legislators to float similar ideas, focusing on building new stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals, it was never pushed to a vote before lawmakers concluded their annual gathering on 1st May. The state governor, Democrat Laura Kelly, then called for a special session to contemplate broad tax cuts after vetoing three prior tax plans.

However, lawmakers have the liberty to deliberate anything they want. A previous attempt at stadium-financing met with stiff opposition primarily from the low-tax, small-government advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity-Kansas. They've long criticized the use of bonds like these, and hold sway over Republicans.

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Detractors maintain that using bonds for hefty projects signifies the state handpicking economic winners and losers instead of promoting free market principles.

Matthew Abbott

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