Kansas City Chiefs secure land for new facilities in Olathe and Wyandotte
Nearly five months after the Kansas City Chiefs debuted their plans to move across the state line, the NFL team announced it has locked down control of most of the land for its future facilities in Kansas.
In December, the Chiefs and Kansas officials celebrated the historic agreement: A $3 billion plan to build a new stadium in Wyandotte County and state-of-the-art practice facility and headquarters in Olathe.
Supported by massive incentives, the bulk of the project will be paid for with $2.8 billion worth of state-issued sales tax and revenue (STAR) bonds, which will then be paid back with new sales tax revenue from the sites in a sweeping STAR Bond district encompassing Wyandotte and Johnson counties.
As part of the historic agreement, the Chiefs had until May 15 to control the sites in both counties — totalling more than 400 acres combined — in order to maintain exclusivity with Kansas. Pat Lowry, a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Commerce, said in an email that the team has indicated it has site control for the stadium, headquarters and practice facilities.
The Chiefs said in an email that the team has “all land under control for the practice facility in Olathe” and “a majority of land under control for the stadium in Wyandotte County.”
The Chiefs didn’t say how much land is left in Wyandotte County. Johnson County property records didn’t show a change of ownership documented for the Olathe site as of May 19.
“We feel very good about the position we’re in and continue the process to finalize a few additional pieces,” the Chiefs said in an email. “The state has been a great partner, and we have no intention of suspending exclusivity. We remain in contact with them, are keeping them updated on our progress, and look forward to working with them as we move to the definitive documentation stage.”
STAR Bonds refresher, next steps
Earlier this year, the Olathe City Council and the United Government of Wyandotte County and KCK agreed to pledge local incremental sales tax revenues to help pay off the STAR bonds.
While STAR bonds are typically paid back with both state and local sales taxes collected in a defined district encompassing a new attraction, this district is a bit different thanks to a special law Kansas lawmakers passed to help fund professional sports teams.
Instead of one district around the attraction, the bond debt could be collected from three places:
- A sweeping district across much of Wyandotte and Johnson counties that would redirect state sales tax money,
- A smaller, 236-acre area around the new stadium that would redirect local sales taxes from Wyandotte County,
- And an even smaller, 165-acre area around the new practice facility that would redirect local sales taxes from Olathe.
Now, state officials and the Chiefs need to establish the official boundaries of the STAR bonds district, which the state Department of Commerce anticipates finalizing in the next few months, Lowry said.
