Major Missouri vote on Chiefs, Royals stadium funding expected soon
The Missouri House is poised to vote Wednesday on a funding package aimed at keeping the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in the state, sending the legislation to Gov. Mike Kehoe for his virtually certain signature.
A successful House vote would mark the culmination of Missouri’s efforts to mount a response to a sweeping plan approved by the Kansas Legislature a year ago to attract the teams across the state line with a supercharged bonding program that, in theory, could finance up to 70% of the cost of new stadiums.
The Missouri package is more modest, capping costs at 50%, but proponents say it is financially responsible and represents a serious, competitive offer. At its core, the proposal would divert a baseline level of tax revenue generated by the teams toward payment of bonds to finance new or upgraded stadiums.
Supporters say the aid amounts to the revenue Missouri stands to lose if the teams leave. Critics cast the package as corporate welfare for wealthy team owners and say stadium subsidies are rarely worth the cost. Decades of academic research show stadiums aren’t major drivers of economic development.
The House vote, expected sometime after debate begins on the bill late morning, comes after the Senate passed the measure in a 19-13 vote last week. On Tuesday, the House Economic Development advanced the bill to the full House after a hearing where lobbyists for the teams made their final public pitches for the legislation.
“We have said that after our 2030 season that we would like to find a new home for the Royals. For us, that means a new stadium,” Royals lobbyist Cara Hoover told lawmakers on Tuesday. “There are a couple of locations in consideration in Missouri.”
Absent unexpected developments, the House appears likely to pass the legislation. The chamber passed a previous version of the proposal during the final week of the regular legislative session in May but it faltered in the Senate.
Kehoe responded by calling the General Assembly into a special session that began last week. If lawmakers approve the bill on Wednesday, the governor could sign it potentially as early as this week.
Missouri faced a ticking clock to get its offer in place. The Kansas plan the features supercharged bonds will expire on June 30 unless top lawmakers in that state extend it; Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins has said that so far they appear unlikely to do so.
The Star’s Kacen Bayless contributed reporting
