Olathe reveals site of proposed Chiefs practice facility, prepares for vote
The public is getting a first look at where a new Kansas City Chiefs training facility could be built in Olathe, as the City Council is set to consider whether to pledge local tax dollars toward the project next week.
The Olathe City Council will consider Tuesday whether to allocate local sales and use taxes within a portion of the city — called the “Base Revenue Area” — to help pay for a Chiefs stadium in Wyandotte County and a training facility in Olathe.
After the December announcement of the Chiefs planning to move across state lines, Olathe was given 60 days to conduct a public hearing, vote and adopt an ordinance that would pledge new incremental general sales tax generated within the Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bonds program area to the project.
An agenda for the City Council’s Feb. 3 meeting shows that public hearing will take place shortly after the regular meeting starts at 7 p.m.
“Tuesday, the Olathe City Council will hold a public hearing and consider an ordinance to pledge local incremental sales tax from the project area to the Chiefs headquarters and training facility project in Olathe,” Olathe Mayor John Bacon said in a statement.
“This development provides a lot of potential benefits for our city, in the immediate area of where it’s being developed and beyond,” he said. “I’m excited about the possibilities it brings to Olathe.”
What Olathe ordinance proposes
According to the proposed ordinance, officials are exploring a site for a new Chiefs headquarters and practice facility at the northwest corner of College Boulevard and Ridgeview Road, just south of Kansas Highway 10. The ordinance says that all local sales tax revenue generated within a 165-acre area surrounding the facility would be allocated to repaying the STAR bonds.
STAR Bonds are designed to fund regional attractions by covering a portion of costs up front that are then paid back with future sales tax revenue from a surrounding district. Kansas passed legislation authorizing the state to potentially issue STAR bonds to pay for up to 70% of the cost of the stadium and practice facility that would be repaid over 30 years .
The proposed training facility site and surrounding district is a mostly undeveloped area, bordered to the north by the Garmin Olathe Soccer complex and Ridgeview Marketplace neighborhood. On the east sits a John Deere Ag Marketing building and a handful of other businesses. To the south and west there are apartments, homes and the Northwood Trails Access Park, where trails snake along Mill Creek.
Under the proposed ordinance, Olathe’s portion of current and existing sales taxes outside of the project area would not be used for repayment of the STAR bonds for the new Chiefs practice facility.
This means the city would not divert local tax revenue from the whole city, just from the proposed 165-acre base area around the practice facility and headquarters.
The proposed ordinance would pledge:
- “For a period of up to 30 years, all of the City’s general sales and use tax that is not committed to other uses by election of voters or pledged to bond repayment (currently 1%) from within the Base Revenue Area.”
- “For a period of up to 30 years, all of the City’s share (currently 17.63%) of the Johnson County sales tax that is not committed to other uses by election of voters or pledged to bond repayment (currently 0.5%) from within the Base Revenue Area.”
- “For a period of up to 30 years, 7% of the City’s current 9% transient guest taxes (less any State administrative fees) with respect to sleeping accommodations in any hotel, motel, or tourist court located within the Base Revenue Area.”
The ordinance excludes its street maintenance sales tax, park sales tax, and other retail and compensating use taxes that are committed to other uses by voters.
It also excludes any sales taxes generated by existing or future special taxing districts (community improvement districts, tax increment financing districts or transportation development districts).
The ordinance also states that, “No full faith and credit bonds will be issued by the City to pay the costs of the STAR Bond Project,” which means Olathe is not on the hook if sales taxes in the district aren’t enough to make payments on the Chiefs stadium bonds.
“In no event will the Bonds be deemed to constitute a debt or liability of the City, and the issuance of the Bonds will not obligate the City to levy any form of taxation or to budget or make any appropriation for repayment of the Bonds,” the proposed ordinance states.
Olathe City Councilwoman LeEtta Felter said in a statement Saturday that the project could increase Olathe’s tax base.
“Our role is to ensure this is a carefully structured public-private partnership that delivers clear public value — jobs, infrastructure, tax base growth, and long-term community benefit — without placing unreasonable risk on taxpayers,” Felter said.
“That’s exactly what’s being evaluated.”
Felter also said in a phone call Saturday that she is excited about what the development could mean for the future of Olathe.
“With the right safeguards, this project has the potential to be a significant economic catalyst for our region while honoring our responsibility to taxpayers.”
Just local sales tax
Olathe’s ordinance focuses on diverting local sales taxes to the Chiefs project — not state sales taxes. Olathe is already included in the proposed massive STAR bond district to pay back the bond amount over several decades.
Since the state gets to set the terms of and approve the stadium STAR bonds deal without local signoff, the law only authorizes it to pledge state — not local — sales tax money to pay back the bonds. However, the law says that local governments can choose to divert their local sales tax revenue to the stadium bonds too, which is what Olathe will discuss Tuesday.
The preliminary district that state officials proposed for the Chiefs’ bond district extends well beyond the immediate area surrounding a stadium. It stretches across nearly all of Wyandotte County and most of western Johnson County.
That means new state sales tax money throughout that entire area would be put toward paying back stadium debt instead of other government priorities for 30 years.
How to participate in public hearing
Residents wanting to speak at the Olathe meeting are asked to sign up beforehand. They can sign up by calling the city clerk’s office at 913-971-8521 or emailing CCO@OlatheKS.gov by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
In-person sign-up is available at City Hall until 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. Each speaker is allowed up to 5 minutes to address the City Council.
Previous reporting by The Star’s Taylor O’Conner contributed.
This story was originally published January 31, 2026 at 4:00 PM.
