A meeting of the minds is planned for next week at the state Capitol to work on a plan to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.
House Speaker Jonathan Patterson said members of the Jackson County Legislature will be meeting Wednesday morning with House and Senate leadership, as well as Gov. Mike Kehoe.
“I think the time is running out,” Patterson told reporters on Thursday. “I think it is time for a plan and course of action.”
The lease for both teams runs through January 2031.
“I do think this is going to be something that has to happen at the county first, and then the state to come in. I would liken it to building a house – the Jackson County piece of it is the foundation and the walls. We need to have that before we start talking about windows and curtains,” he said.
Last year, Jackson County voters struck down a 3/8th-cent sales tax extension. A few months later, the Jackson County Legislature rejected a plan to ask voters to support a quarter-cent sales tax to keep the Chiefs in the Show Me state.
“I think Jackson County will need to decide whether they want to support this venture, or will they have an empty parking lot or empty stadiums, which is not free. It costs a lot of money to maintain stadiums that are empty, and it costs a lot of money to tear down stadiums that are empty,” said Patterson.
He said the state needs to have an assurance that Jackson County “is all in” on passing public funding.
“Otherwise, there’s no need to have any other discussions at the state level,” said Patterson. “Because, as you know, it would be very hard to pass a measure. I think we could do it, but there’s no need to have that discussion without knowing that Jackson County is in on this as well.”
According to Patterson, a plan that the city, county, and state agree on is key for voters.
“If we’re going to realistically keep the Kansas City Chiefs, which I want to do, I think we will need to approve some sort of public funding. What number that is can be discussed,” said Patterson. “I want the Royals to stay in Missouri, but I think in terms of the public financing from Jackson County, I think that will be just for the Chiefs. I don’t think the Royals even would want to go back to the ballot.”
House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said to get enough voter support, proper education about the plan’s impact and cooperation from state and local leaders are crucial.
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