The Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals have an upcoming deadline from the state of Kansas for a deal to build new sports stadiums in Kansas.
Both teams appear to be in the mix and could have an announcement as soon as Dec. 22.
That day is when a committee of top lawmakers meets for its self-imposed deadline.
Senate President Ty Masterson chairs the Legislative Coordinating Council, which in July imposed the Dec. 31 deadline for the Chiefs and Royals.
Megan Stookey, a spokesperson for Masterson, told The Capital-Journal in a Dec. 18 statement, “Masterson believes the Kansas City Royals are fully committed to Kansas which fulfills their obligation regarding the advanced timeline given from the LCC.
“While their location proposal continues to evolve, it will not be finalized or considered this year or during the upcoming legislative session.”
While Masterson made no mention of the Chiefs, the Kansas Department of Commerce did in a statement posted to Facebook acknowledge the upcoming LCC meeting.
“The state of Kansas is in active discussions with the Kansas City Chiefs about the prospects of building a new stadium and other facilities in Kansas,” the agency’s post said. “No final agreement has been reached, but this would be a massive economic win for Kansas and benefit Kansans for generations to come. We are aggressively pursuing this opportunity.”
The Commerce Department made no mention of the Royals.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, released a statement after Masterson and the Department of Commerce commented on negotiations with the teams, saying that Dec. 31 remains the deadline for a stadium deal.
“Just as a point of clarification, December 31st is the STAR Bond deadline. It’s been the deadline since the LCC voted on it and as Chair of the LCC next year, I can assure you that is not going to change. I hope both the Chiefs and the Royals can come to an agreement with the State by that date,” Hawkins said in a press release.
Masterson said in his own clarifying statement: “While I believe the Royals are committed to relocating to Kansas, this does not alter the procedural deadline set by the Legislative Coordinating Council for December 31, 2025.”
Under a Kansas law offering subsidies to the football and baseball franchises, the Commerce Department is in charge of negotiating any stadium deal while the LCC has final authority to approve it.
The law had a June 30, 2025, deadline to make a deal, but the LCC in July retroactively extended it. Under the law, the extension set a new deadline of June 30, 2026, but legislative leadership self-imposed the Dec. 31 deadline.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cjonline.com ’
