Royals, Chiefs Might Be Inching Closer To New Stadiums: Should Taxpayers Pony Up?

The long-running saga of potential new homes for the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals took another turn this week. 

In 2024, both organizations hoped that Kansas City voters would approve propositions to help fund new construction. Both were overwhelmingly voted down. 

READ: Chiefs Make Mistakes And Lose Kansas City Stadium Vote As Terrible Week Continues

The Chiefs self-imposed a deadline to determine whether they'd stay in Kansas City or look to other sites, with that timeframe now passed without much of an update. On Wednesday though, Missouri politicians met with representatives from both teams to "align stakeholders," per a new report from KMBC 9. 

Gov. Mike Kehoe, key leaders from the Missouri legislature, as well as local Kansas City and Jackson County politicians also attended. Sean Smith, a Jackson County legislator, said he was optimistic considering "the governor indicated that there’s clearly some state-level tools they can bring to bear."

The Governor's office also released a statement to KMBC on the purpose of the meeting.

Arrowhead Stadium (foreground) and Kauffman Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex. Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Missouri Taxpayers Still Shouldn't Pay For New Stadiums

Sports franchise owners love to tell politicians and taxpayers that their stadiums are necessary and financially beneficial for individuals living in the region and state. Yet they never answer the obvious question: if they're such good investments, why don't owners pay for them themselves? 

The Hunt family, owners of the Chiefs, are worth an estimated $25 billion. Which is probably on the lower end of realistic. 

Not only could they afford to pay for the entire stadium themselves, and have tens of billions of dollars left over, but they could also quite easily arrange for their own financing to construct it. Presumably a family worth $25 billion has some contacts in the financial services or banking industries to work with. 

But owners instead run to taxpayers for a handout, because they can. 

Yes, the Chiefs generate sales tax revenue, as do the Royals. So does virtually every other business that operates in the state, and they don't often get free money to build their offices or retail locations. Both organizations could use new stadiums. They should pay for them.