Missouri GOP lawmakers sue to block incentives for KC Chiefs, Royals stadiums
A pair of Missouri Republican state lawmakers and a conservative activist on Thursday sued to block a law intended to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.
State Sen. Mike Moon, an Ash Grove Republican, Rep. Bryant Wolfin, a St. Genevieve Republican, and activist Ron Calzone filed the lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court. The trio argues that the legislation is unconstitutional and should be struck down.
The lawsuit takes aim at several amendments lawmakers added to the legislation during a special session designed to incentivize the teams to remain in the state last month, including disaster relief for residents affected by tornadoes in St. Louis and property tax changes that affect some Missouri counties.
The addition of those provisions, the lawsuit argues, violates a requirement in the Missouri Constitution that pieces of legislation only deal with one subject. The suit also pushes back on the incentives Missouri passed to help the teams build or renovate stadiums.
“The appropriations described in the bill are a direct gift or bribe to the owners of the Chiefs and the Royals to stay in Missouri,” the lawsuit said, which names as defendants the state of Missouri, Gov. Mike Kehoe and Attorney General Andrew Bailey.
The lawsuit comes after a two-week, at times chaotic, special legislative session intended to prevent the city’s two major sports teams from leaving Missouri for Kansas. Under the legislation, Missouri could pay for up to 50% of new or improved stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals using tax revenue generated by the teams toward payment of bonds for the stadiums.
The timing of the legislation was crucial, supporters argued, as Kansas seeks to lure the teams through a supercharged bonds program that could pay for up to 70% of new stadiums.
At several points during the special session, the bill faced an uphill battle with lawmakers of both parties wanting their priorities tacked on.
Kehoe, who actively lobbied lawmakers to pass the legislation, eventually decided to expand his special session call to include legislation that offered more money to help victims of the tornadoes and language that would let counties cap homeowners’ property tax liabilities.
As a result, the stadium incentives legislation also requires certain Republican-led counties, excluding Jackson and Clay counties, to allow local residents to vote on some form of property tax cut ballot measure by 2026.
During the special session, opponents of the legislation argued that the inclusion of the property tax language could risk the bill being challenged in court. Lawmakers, in response, added a clause saying that if one part of the bill was struck down, the other parts would remain.
It remains unclear how much sway the lawsuit will have over the teams’ futures in Missouri as negotiations continue. A spokesperson for Kehoe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
