Kansas City Chiefs

Taxpayers in Kansas and Missouri still don't know if they'll be asked to help fund the stadiums for the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs. The lack of transparency and public participation from the teams has some people questioning if a deal is in their best interest.

The Kansas City Chiefs asked the state of Kansas to extend its offer for a stadium funding incentives package, catching Missouri lawmakers off guard after they passed a funding measure of their own. But neither the Chiefs nor the Royals have made any location commitments yet.

The Kansas City Royals need to get moving if the team wants a new stadium by 2031. Decision makers in Jackson County, Clay County and North Kansas City do not want to repeat the mistake of working out details after it’s been placed on a ballot.

Kansas City Chiefs president Mark Donovan asked Kansas officials to alter the deadline for a state incentive package “in light of substantial progress the Chiefs have made in discussions” about building a new stadium, headquarters, or other facilities across state lines.

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce hosted an online presentation downplaying the border question days before teams must decide on Kansas stadium offer.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Royals are weighing competing incentive packages offered by Missouri and Kansas to help fund new stadiums. There's a wave of professional sports teams that are seeking upgraded homes.

The bill is a response to action from Kansas, which passed legislation offering to pay 70% of the cost of building new stadiums for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals. While the teams called Missouri’s plan competitive, neither has committed to staying.

The Missouri House closed the special session Wednesday with votes to finance professional sports stadiums in Kansas City and disaster relief.

Bills that would help fund new stadiums for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals and provide $100 million in storm relief for St. Louis passed out of committees. If the House does not make any changes, the bills could pass the entire legislature on Wednesday.

Missouri state Sen. Rick Brattin stepped down as chair of the Missouri Freedom Caucus just days after voting in favor of a Kansas City stadium funding deal. The conservative group criticized the plan as a "handout to billionaire sports team owners."

The Missouri General Assembly appears poised to approve incentives to help the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals build or renovate their stadiums. But questions still remain over whether the teams will take the offer, or move to Kansas instead.

The stadium funding plan now goes to the Missouri House. While Kansas has offered to pay 70% of the cost of new stadiums if the Kansas City teams move, Missouri's offer would cover about half the cost.