The proposals would allow state tax support for new facilities in Clay County, where the Royals are considering a new stadium and the Chiefs are mulling a new training center
BY: RUDI KELLER
Missouri Independent
Two identical bills to give state backing for a new sports and convention center in Clay County are not an attempt to poach the Kansas City Chiefs or Royals from Jackson County, legislators were told Monday during a Senate committee hearing.
Instead, the bill sponsors said, the intent is to provide another location for new facilities for one or both of the teams in order to ensure they stay in Missouri .
“This has never been about pitting Jackson against Clay County,” said state Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Democrat from the Clay County portion of Kansas City. “This is making sure that the teams have all the options on the table to find a spot that will work well for them.”
Nurrenbern, who represents about two-thirds of Clay County, was joined by state Sen. Kurtis Gregory, a Republican from Marshall whose district has the remainder of Clay County.
As he ran for the Senate last year, Gregory said, he was asked repeatedly what could be done to keep the teams in Missouri.
“If they go to another state, we’re looking at easily another 50, 60, 70 years, before we’ve got a shot to get them back,” he said.
With only seven weeks to go in the session, Gregory said after the hearing that he and Nurrenbern will be looking for a bill that can be amended to carry the legislation.
The bills would authorize a new Clay County Sports Complex Authority, modeled on the Jackson County organization that owns the Truman Sports Complex in eastern Kansas City where the Chiefs play home games in Arrowhead Stadium and the Royals play next door in Kauffman Stadium. The stadiums were built in the 1960s and leases for both teams run through the end of the 2030 season.
The bill would authorize a state payment of up to $3 million annually to support the authority if it leases its facility to a team in the NFL, NBA, NHL or Major League Baseball. The payment would only be made if lawmakers approve it in annual appropriation bills and only in an amount equal to the support from local governments.
The likelihood one or both teams will move is high after Kansas lawmakers last year passed several incentives intended to lure them across the state line.
The Royals first announced an intention to leave Kauffman Stadium in November 2022. The move would allow the Chiefs to remain in Arrowhead, demolish Kauffman and build a covered entertainment center.
In the spring of 2023, Clay County leaders announced interest in building a stadium in North Kansas City that could become the Royals new home.
Soon after Clay County entered the conversation, a poll was leaked to the media widely seen as an effort to discredit the offer. It showed 70% of Clay County voters opposed a new sales tax to fund a stadium in North Kansas City.
No one took responsibility for the poll at the time. It wasn’t until more than a year later that documents provided to The Independent revealed it was a political action committee formed to support Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas that paid for the Clay County polling.
The effort to relocate the Royals to a new downtown stadium stalled when voters last year rejected a proposal to extend a 3/8-cent sales tax to help finance a downtown Kansas City baseball stadium and upgrades to Arrowhead Stadium.
Clay County is angling for both the Royals’ new home and for a new Chiefs training facility.
Clay County officials testifying Monday said their top priority is to find a solution to team facility needs that keeps both teams in Missouri.
“We have worked with local businesses, and we have worked with the local municipalities to make sure that we are all speaking with one voice, and it would be our pleasure to be able to add our voice to that of the state of Missouri,” Clay County Presiding Commissioner Jerry Nolte said.
But if the teams stay put at the Truman Sports Complex, move downtown or cross the state line, having the authority structure will help Clay County compete for other business, Clay County Associate Commissioner Scott Wagner said.
“This tool,” Wagner said, “can be helpful to us in the future for other sorts of teams, other sorts of opportunities that could potentially come to Clay County.”