Betsy Webster
Jul 30, 2024
What began as a battle to keep the Chiefs could evolve into a tax for a property, not a team.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) -The back and forth over keeping the teams happy has been going for more than a year. It began when the Royals and Chiefs laid out a plan for renovations to Arrowhead and the construction of a new Royals stadium downtown. They agreed jointly to pay $1 billion of the projected $2 billion cost. After Jackson County voters rejected extending a 3/8-cent sales tax to make that happen, Kansas threw financial bait at the teams to lure them away. Their leases at the sports complex expire in 2031.
That’s what prompted legislator Sean Smith to propose a change to the sales tax initiative surrounding a sales tax.
“Right now, we have no funding source after 2031 and the teams are going to be there till 2031,” Smith explained. “We need something going forward.”
His proposal threw a curveball at the legislator who last month proposed a tax to keep the Chiefs. Legislator Manny Abarca wants to put a question on the November ballot to approve a 3/8-cent sales tax for 40 years to provide to the Chiefs funds to improve their stadium. He cut the Royals out on purpose after voters rejected a joint Chiefs/Royals sales tax for the same amount and terms. Smith wants to amend the language as follows:
Change the language from Chiefs to Truman Sports Complex, allowing the funds to be used for either team, both, or neither if the teams choose to leave.
Reduce the tax amount from 3/8-cent to 1/4-cent
Add a sunset date to end the tax within five years of whatever time there are no teams left at the sports complex.
Smith contends merely having some funding in place makes it more likely that the MLB and NFL will not move the teams out of the market, but his main concern appears to be with the property itself should the teams leave. The tax package approved by Kansas lawmakers to draw them across the state line amplifies that possibility. He said it’s about considering the future now.
“Maybe we’ll have one team, maybe we’ll have neither, maybe we’ll have both, and we’ll continue to have a funding mechanism,” Smith explained. “If we have neither, we have to have some funds to either maintain those stadiums or do something to repurpose that property.”
READ MORE: Chiefs’ Mark Donovan says organization has options in ongoing stadium negotiations
A 3/8-cent sales tax is currently in place to maintain the stadiums at the Truman Sports Complex, which is owned by the county. It runs out when the leases expire.
The amendment concerned Abarca, whose main motivation behind the initial tax proposal was to keep the Chiefs. He worries the lower tax amount won’t be enough to entice the Chiefs. He worries voters won’t say yes to something that doesn’t separate the two teams.
“I think voters were clear, resoundingly that they wanted to see a Chiefs and Royals issue addressed separately so that they could vote one way or another based upon what we see from each team,” Abarca said.
The issues leading to the failure of the joint tax were varied and included specifics about where the Royals wanted to build their new stadium downtown. The team has said they have no interest in merely renovating Kauffman Stadium.