Ending months of speculation about their future home once their lease expires at Arrowhead Stadium, the four-time Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs announced they will be moving to Kansas in 2031. The team will build a $3 billion domed stadium near the Kansas Speedway in western Wyandotte County and a $300 million team headquarters and practice facility in Olathe, along with a mixed-use development.
According to the STAR Bond Agreement governing the project, 60% of the stadium will be financed by sales tax revenue in excess of that currently collected in a yet-unannounced Star Bond District. The Chiefs organization will pay the remaining 40%.
“Good afternoon, and oh…what an afternoon it is!” began Kansas Governor Laura Kelly in making the announcement. Kelly was flanked by members of the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC), made up of House and Senate leaders of both parties, which had hours earlier unanimously approved the framework of the STAR Bond District.
“Today’s announcement is purely historic. Actually, it’s a little bit surreal,” the governor continued. “Today’s announcement will touch the lives of Kansans for generations to come. Today’s announcement is a total game-changer for our state. Because today, we are announcing an agreement to bring our beloved Kansas City Chiefs right here to Kansas!”
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt also spoke of the historic nature of the day for the Chiefs and his family, which has owned the franchise since the dawn of the American Football League in 1960. The Dallas Texans, as they were called then, moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs in 1962:
“As the Kansas City Chiefs, we chase big dreams. On the field, those dreams involve division titles, conference championships, and Lombardi Trophies. We are big dreamers, and my family and I have devoted our lives to make big dreams come true.
“The State of Kansas came to us and told us about their big dreams. A state-of the-art stadium, a world-class training facility, a new team headquarters, and a vibrant mixed-use development. It’s a public-private partnership and the primary beneficiaries are the citizens of the Greater Kansas City area. It’s a big dream, and today is a major step in making it a reality.”
Senate President Ty Masterson, Chairman of the LCC, used a football analogy about teamwork to express his appreciation for those on both sides of the political aisle who made the Chiefs’ move to Kansas a reality:
“This scoring drive started in the legislature, allowing legislation to make that happen. Teamwork takes it down the field. It was really just the “tush-push” by the LCC today that put this thing over the line! I feel like Kansas won the Super Bowl today!
$2 billion in taxpayer subsidies for the Chiefs, but still no property tax relief for Kansans
The $2 billion subsidy doesn’t come from existing taxpayer funds; the debt will be repaid from future sales tax collections generated within the STAR bond district. However, taxpayers will still bear high costs.
Taxpayers have a finite amount to spend on entertainment, so much of the money spent within the STAR bond district is mostly a shift of economic activity, rather than new activity. Now, the sales tax generated by activity in Kansas is funding schools, social services, and other government services. However, sales tax collected from economic activity that shifts to within the STAR bond district will instead be used to pay off the $2 billion debt.
The businesses within the STAR bond district will certainly benefit, but much of that comes at the expense of the restaurants and retail establishments people currently patronize. This unaccounted-for shift in activity is one of the main factors cited by sports economists, whose research shows that subsidized professional sports complexes don’t work for taxpayers.
Much like the $1 billion taxpayer subsidy lavished on Panasonic, legislators in both parties eagerly approved the super-charged STAR bond legislation for the Chiefs. Yet taxpayers have been begging legislators for property tax relief for at least two years, only to see the 2025 legislative session end with the House and Senate unable to agree on substantive relief.
The 2024 STAR bond legislation in HB 2001 passed 84-38 in the House and 27-8 in the Senate. By comparison, property tax legislation that would have limited the increase in assessed valuations passed the Senate 27-13 but failed in the House on a 37-88 vote.
In fact, 52 House members and 9 Senators who voted for the STAR bond legislation voted against the assessment limit.
