As the Chiefs and Royals contemplate their stadium futures, the state of Kansas is set to offer them something with which they are quite familiar: Time. The Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC) is scheduled to meet July 7, with plans to weigh extending the window for the state’s stadium incentives package. That package is designed to lure one or both teams inside its boundary — a move that trails the Missouri General Assembly’s move to fortify its own incentives package earlier this month.
If you had any doubt about the two teams being the beneficiaries of a border war auction, well, it’s fully evident now.
Both states have passed incentive packages, and as Kansas is working to extend the date on its offer — which was to expire this coming Monday — each team has still talked with local Missouri leadership as recently as this week, multiple sources told The Star.
On it goes. Or on it drags, we could say.
But there is much more to this latest Kansas extension than initially meets the eye. It reveals some of the behindthe- scenes conversations in the state of Kansas — and that the Chiefs, in particular, are working toward solidifying an option there.
In a letter released by Ty Masterson, the Kansas Senate president and LCC chair, Chiefs team president Mark Donovan requested the extension in writing on Thursday, citing progress in negotiations.
“We believe the foundation is in place for something truly historic — not only for our team but for the future of the state’s economy and national profile,” Donovan wrote in his letter addressed to Masterson and the eight LCC members.
The LCC replied with its intentions to call the July 7 meeting, and Masterson said it is his intention to oblige the Chiefs’ request and extend the deadline through the end of 2025, not a full year. While that meeting will occur after the expiration of the June 30 deadline for STAR bonds, the LCC is permitted to retroactively extend the deadline.
The same group would have to approve any Chiefs or Royals specific proposal.
“The letter from Mark Donovan indicates that the drive to bring this historic project to Kansas is moving down the field,” Masterson said in a news release.
When passing the financial package a year ago, Kansas lawmakers stated that an extension would only come under the belief, if not commitment, that at least one of the teams planned to move to the state.
They are absent the commitment.
They apparently have at least some belief.
To be sure, though, Donovan, the Chiefs’ team president, gave them a reason for it.
In his letter, Donovan said the team has “made significant progress on the core deal components, including the stadium, headquarters, practice facility and surrounding development,” but says more time is required “to bring the effort to full fruition.”
In a team statement provided to The Star, the Chiefs said they are making “progress toward a mutually beneficial agreement.”
But not recently. While making his case that the team considers Kansas a real option — in other words, that it is more than a leverage play — Donovan also said the Chiefs haven’t received a response to their latest proposal over the last six weeks.
The Kansas bill authorized David Toland, the state’s lieutenant governor and commerce secretary, to negotiate with the Chiefs and Royals.
“If responses from the administration continue to not be sufficient or timely, the LCC may choose to engage more deeply in the process,” Masterson wrote.
Toland did not reply to a specific question about how recently he been in touch with the Chiefs, but applauded the LCC’s intention to meet next month.
“Kansas Commerce continues to conduct a careful analysis of costs and benefits as part of crafting agreements to keep the Chiefs and Royals in the region while maximizing growth opportunities for Kansas,” Toland said in a statement, while also stating he didn’t plan to comment on the topic in the future.
The Chiefs, per sources, are looking at multiple sites in Kansas, and they are discussing options with political leaders that would most likely separate the team’s stadium and training facility to different locations in the state. In fact, that’s almost certainly part of the pitch: the NFL’s biggest draw anchoring not one, but two, developments in the state.
A domed football stadium project is priced in the neighborhood of $3 billion. Technically, the Kansas STAR bonds proposal can fund up to 70% of that cost, but bond experts who have spoken to The Star seriously doubt $2 billion in bonds could be issued — which, if you do the math, means the Chiefs would be staring at a commitment of at least $1 billion for a new domed stadium, and perhaps more.
That is on the table, per sources.
Which returns us to the relevance of the exchange. This isn’t identical to the state of Kansas passing its initial STAR bonds package in June 2024. It’s the metro’s NFL team insisting it is progressing toward an agreement, and a most significant entity in Kansas replying, “We believe you. Here’s more time to figure it out.”
The Royals did not send the letter — the two teams separated strategically after Jackson County voters shot down an April 2024 ballot measure to keep them in the county. But they stand to similarly benefit from an extension. And they might be every bit as inclined to use it.
The Royals have continued their conversations with Toland about a move to Kansas, and have specifically engaged about the Aspira campus, according to sources. Last month, a Royals affiliate purchased the mortgage for the Aspira campus in Overland Park, which was formerly home to Sprint.
A new baseball park carries an estimated cost north of $1 billion, maybe as much as $1.5 billion, and the Royals have long planned to surround their new stadium with an entertainment district, no matter the site.
The Chiefs and Royals have more time to investigate those options in Kansas now, but they’re still talking with officials on the other side of the state line.
Members of Royals leadership met Tuesday with some Kansas City, Missouri, representatives, once more analyzing the Washington Square Park site just east of Union Station downtown. The Royals have inquired about avenues to achieve their original plan of downtown baseball absent another countywide vote — though, to be clear, they haven’t committed to pursuing that route.
The Missouri stadium incentives bill, passed earlier this month, could fund up to 50% of a renovated or new stadium, but it requires that to be paired with a local financing source. The Chiefs would plan to request Jackson County taxpayers be that source. They have continued to look into renovating Arrowhead Stadium and their adjoining practice facility, an option that would cost more than $1 billion.
The two teams haven’t had recent negotiations with Jackson County Executive Frank White, though they could opt for the path that landed them on a county ballot 15 months ago: Using the county legislature to approve the measure in order to put it in front of voters. That was tricky once, and could prove tricky again — if it’s necessary.
In a statement to The Star, White said the deadline extension “doesn’t change our focus in Jackson County. Our priority remains the same: securing a fair deal for our residents while working to keep the Chiefs and Royals right here, where they belong.
“We look forward to reviewing proposals from both teams and continuing discussions about a future that honors our taxpayers and the legacy this community has built,” he added.
After a business session to discuss a variety of policy issues, the Kansas City Council met in closed session for 20 minutes Thursday to discuss what Mayor Quinton Lucas described as “sports and facilities” before the council embarked on a twoweek summer break.
Council members made no public mention of what they discussed behind closed doors when they returned to the council chamber in City Hall for the start of their regular weekly legislative meeting.
In a statement, Lucas said Kansas city “continues its work with the (Royals) to create a long-term real estate and development success,” and that the city also plans to continue engagement with the Chiefs.
