Lawmakers expect to discuss future of Chiefs, Royals this session

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — This week, 300,000 Chiefs fans received an email asking them to complete surveys about renovations to Arrowhead Stadium or the possibility of a new Chiefs stadium. 

Last year, Kansas passed legislation to entice the Chiefs and the Royals to the Sunflower State by offering bonds to help the teams pay for up to 70 percent of the cost of new stadiums, but Missouri is saying not so fast. 

With lawmakers back in Jefferson City, they too are focused on keeping the teams in the Show-Me State. Members on both sides of the aisle say they want to keep the teams in Missouri but want to be smart in spending taxpayer's dollars. 

"I think we'll work hard to keep them," Senate President Cindy O'Laughlin said Thursday. 

Back in April, Jackson County voters rejected a stadium sales tax, which would have helped fund a new ballpark for the Royals and renovated Arrowhead Stadium. 

"The local government hasn't worked very well yet in that situation," O'Laughlin said. "I think that the Chiefs and the Royals bring a lot of people into the state, and they are like any other business. Would we want them to leave? No. We don't want them to leave. Are we willing to write a check for millions and millions of dollars? No."

O'Laughlin expects this topic to be a key issue during the next five months of the legislative session. 

Gov. Mike Parson and Governor-Elect Mike Kehoe say they've been talking with the teams and believe they will stay in the Show-Me State. Parson mentioned over the summer that he wanted to have a plan in place by the end of the year, but lawmakers say they haven't heard from his office.

"I'm disappointed that Gov. Parson didn't follow through on his promise to provide a plan by the end of the year, which he said he would do. But I do think it's incumbent upon us as the legislature to work hand-in-hand with city officials and county officials to put up the best solution that makes sure we're good stewards of taxpayer dollars," House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said. 

Kehoe previously said that voters passing sports betting is part of the solution of the teams saying put, but he isn't a fan of spending taxpayer money on stadiums. 

For fans who didn't receive an email but want to participate in the survey, you can find it on the Chiefs' website.