Chiefs, Royals Could Have Easier Path To Leaving Missouri

The Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals have both been looking to improve on their stadium situations for several years, and both may have just inched closer to leaving their respective homes.

The Chiefs in particular threatened fans with leaving the region entirely, if their demands for publicly funded improvements weren't met.

READ: Royals, Chiefs Not Committed To Staying In Kansas City Without Stadium Improvements

Voters in the region though, overwhelminglay rejected the appeal to give the Hunt family, with their net worth of roughly $25 billion, a massive handout to fund construction. Similarly, the Royals' plan to build a new stadium in downtown Kansas City was rejected. 

Bad news for the extremely wealthy owners of the two organizations, right?

Well not exactly. Thanks to politicians' unwavering inability to understand how bad stadium investments are for the public, another state has stepped in to potentially give over huge sums of taxpayer money unnecessarily.  

Travis Kelce speaks to the crowd as the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs are honored prior to the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on June 12, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

State Of Kansas Smoothes Path For Chiefs, Royals Relocation

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed a new piece of legislation on Friday that allows the state to attempt to bring both teams to the state and away from Missouri.

The measure, which was passed with a bipartisan supermajority, would use bonds to cover 70 percent of the cost of a new stadium in the state. Kansas would then raise the revenues to pay those facilities off over 30 years with sports betting, the state lottery, and new sales and alcohol taxes.

Imagine all the better things the state could spend its money on than giving billionaires free benefits. 

While this doesn't mean a move is imminent, it does provide more leverage for both franchises to use in their battle with Kansas City and the state of Missouri. As well as clear a more obvious pathway for the teams to leave their existing stadiums, while still remaining within the general Kansas City region. 

With both teams hoping to get their stadium situation determined within the next four to six years, decisions will need to be made sooner rather than later. Thanks to the generosity of politicians in Kansas, the possible decision now includes leaving Missouri for its neighboring state.