Kansas City's NFL and MLB clubs hope to stay on the banks of the Missouri River as long as local taxpayers are willing.
The Chiefs and Royals announced Friday that both Kansas City franchises would remain in Jackson County, home to Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums, if voters there approve an extension of an existing sales tax that has long funded their upkeep.
The stadiums, which opened in the early 1970s, are located at the Truman Sports Complex and have been connected through county leases for five decades. However, with the current lease expiring in 2030-31, both teams are planning the future of their facilities, and the Royals have indicated they want a new ballpark downtown.
The baseball club would use the expanded sales tax to fund the planned park, while the Chiefs would use it to renovate Arrowhead Stadium.
The Royals are considering offers from Jackson County, where a new ballpark would be located near the existing T-Mobile Center and the Power & Light entertainment district, as well as a competing offer from Clay County, which is across the Missouri River.
Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes (left) and Travis Kelce (right) are in no hurry to leave Kansas City
Bobby Witt Jr. (left) and the Royals play at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, but want a new park
A rendering of the Kansas City Royals' proposed stadium, which would likely be downtown
“The Chiefs and Royals have worked with Jackson County for 50 years in a partnership that has worked well for all voters,” the teams said. “As part of the proposed agreement between the teams and Jackson County, the teams have agreed to provide more than $200 million in new economic benefits to Jackson County over 40 years in a new lease.”
The agreement would relieve the county's obligation to pay stadium insurance premiums and return the parking tax to the county. Meanwhile, the Royals would privately finance a new $1 billion stadium district around their new facility.
The Jackson County Legislature is scheduled to meet Monday, and the Chiefs and Royals will try to get the tax passed on the April vote. If approved, this would clear the way for both teams to begin planning for construction and renovations.
“The partnership between Jackson County, the Chiefs and Royals has been a tremendous success over the last 50 years and is directly responsible for much of the great momentum that has built our hometown,” the teams said.
“The framework described here is a significant financial benefit for Jackson County, based collectively on the concerns of the county board and other local leaders, and will further buoy Kansas City and the region for decades to come.”
The Royals unveiled some renderings of their proposed ballpark in August, showing two completely different locations for a replacement for the aging Kauffman Stadium.
The first location, called East Village, would consist of a baseball stadium anchoring a 27-acre site just blocks from the thriving Power & Light District, where the T-Mobile Center already exists. The second location is a 90-acre area across the Missouri River in Clay County, where the Royals would have more opportunity to develop commercial and residential properties.
A general view of the illuminated sky as the Kansas City Royals prepare for a game in July
Both plans were created by Populous, the Kansas City-based sports architecture giant responsible for renovating or building more than 20 stadiums currently in use across the MLB.
The Royals announced plans to leave Kauffman Stadium about two years ago. But given the myriad factors surrounding the proposed $2 billion-plus baseball and entertainment district, progress in deciding a path forward has been slow.
Regardless of the location, Brooks Sherman, the Royals' president of business operations, said in August that the team was willing to spend about $1 billion in private funds on the project and that they intended to move into their new one on opening day of the 2028 season move stadium.
“Part of the equation is making sure that we negotiate properly and have the proper back-and-forth with each group of governing bodies – the elected leaders – and we're doing that with both Clay County and Jackson County,” Sherman said.
Arrowhead Stadium has been the Kansas City home of the Chiefs since the early 1970s
The downtown location, long considered a front-runner, would capitalize on commercial and business opportunities to increase the revenue that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says is necessary for a club to compete in a small market.
The proposed stadium, which Populous founder Earl Santee warned is not a final design, features curved rooflines reminiscent of Kauffman Stadium. There's an homage to the fountains for which the existing right-center field park is known and to what Santee called “one of the most intimate seating bowls in all of baseball.”
But the stadium also has disadvantages. Getting in and out is already a challenge in the downtown corridor, and parking could be difficult, especially for day games when existing parking spaces are already occupied by those working in the area.
The North Kansas City site would continue the revitalization of a once-dilapidated industrial district.