Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Kansas City Chiefs headquarters moving to Olathe
The Kansas City Chiefs will be moving their stadium, headquarters and practice facility to Kansas. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly spoke on the team’s move.
- The Kansas City Chiefs have secured a stadium funding deal with the state of Kansas.
- Kansas legislative leaders have indicated they will not consider STAR Bond projects for the teams after this deadline.
The Kansas City Chiefs secured a deal with Kansas to secure stadium funding, but the Kansas City Royals opportunity for a similar deal with the state closes after Dec. 31.
Kansas lawmakers expanded Sales Tax and Revenue Bonds, or STAR Bonds, in an effort to attract either the Chiefs or the Royals across the state line. The bill specified that teams must have a deal within a certain timeframe.
The teams’ official deadline for a deal is June 2026, but the Legislative Coordinating Council, a group of legislative leaders that must approve any deal, set a self-imposed deadline of Dec. 31. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, will chair the council next year and said he wouldn’t consider other STAR Bond projects after the 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,” Hawkins said. “I hope both the Chiefs and the Royals can come to an agreement with the State by that date.”
Kansas appeared to be negotiating with Royals in recent weeks
Negotiations appeared to be ongoing until shortly before Chiefs’ and state’s announcement on Dec. 22. On Dec. 18, the spokesperson for Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, said that it was the Royals, not the Chiefs, who were being considered for a deal.
“Masterson believes the Kansas City Royals are fully committed to Kansas which fulfills their obligation regarding the advanced timeline given from the LCC,” Megan Stookey, a spokesperson for Masterson, said in a statement on Dec. 18. “While their location proposal continues to evolve, it will not be finalized or considered this year or during the upcoming legislative session.”
After the statement, Masterson clarified that the Royals commitment doesn’t alter the Legislative Coordinating Council’s procedural deadline. The next day, he told Kansas City Talk Radio host Pete Mundo that the Royals were unlikely to secure a deal using STAR Bonds.
“I do believe they want to come to Kansas. Their intentions are there, but there is a very tight timeline on them, and what I believe doesn’t change the statute,” Masterson said. “This just relates to the STAR Bonds deal, there might be other opportunities outside of that.”
Royals survey last month asked fans for thoughts on Kansas stadium sites
The Royals have hinted at several options for future home in a survey distributed in early November. It asked fans for their opinions on stadium locations near downtown Kansas City, North Kansas City and Johnson County.
On Dec. 28, Union Station in Kansas City donned blue lights in a push to attract the Royals downtown.
“At this moment, Union Station glows in Royals blue, serving as a powerful symbol of a truly generational opportunity rooted in both history and hope,” Union Station’s social media account posted.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has pushed for a downtown ballpark, and said the city and state of Missouri will continue to advance their options.
“We’ll keep up our work, collaboratively with the county and our state to see the Royals in a great facility and to keep building progress citywide,” Lucas said after the Chiefs’ stadium deal.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cjonline.com ’
