Photo credit: Fox Sports
Many people are sick of hearing about the Kansas City Chiefs. I know I am. One thing that might make everyone (particularly in Buffalo) feel a little bit better is that even the most recent NFL dynasty is not immune to the politics of where a new stadium will be built and who is going to pay for it. Buffalo Bills fans know this discussion all too well. One thing that Buffalo does not have to worry about is a dispute between two completely separate states about this issue.
Many people, including our president, think that because of their name that the Chiefs play in Kansas.[1] In fact, they do not. They play in Kansas City, in the State of Missouri. However, that might not be the case for long. Due to increasing maintenance costs and needed upgrades, the Chiefs are looking for financing to build a new stadium once their lease is up in Jackon County, MO in 2031.[2] Jackson County, which owns the stadium, tried to raise sales taxes by 3/8 of $0.01 but the measure was rejected by voters.[3] Kansas saw this as an opportunity to try to lure the Chiefs and the MLB’s Royals to the other side of the state line by providing the teams with large incentive packages to relocate.[4] These incentives would cover up to 70 percent of the cost to build the new stadium.[5] However, there are some in Kansas who believe the money can be put to better use, including funding education.[6]
This is sure to lead to some legal disputes. Jackson County, MO wants the Chiefs to sign a 25 year lease, which for team owner Clark Hunt is a nonstarter unless they got the financing to make significant renovations.[7] If the Chiefs do sign the 25 year lease and financing renovations becomes an issue, they could threaten to break the lease and relocate, potentially opening them up to be sued for negotiating in bad faith. They most likely are trying to leverage the dispute between the states to get the best deal possible. But that was exactly what everyone thought Stan Kroenke was doing when he actually ended up moving the Rams NFL franchise from St. Louis back to Los Angeles.[8] He ended up settling with the City of St. Louis, but it was a long, drawn out, and costly legal battle.[9] If they are not careful the Chiefs, the NFL, and Jackson County can find themselves in the same place their neighbors to the east down the Missouri River found themselves in not that long ago.
[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tweet-kansas-city-gaffe-puts-kansas-city-chiefs-in-wrong-stat
[2] https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/chiefs-plan-800m-renovation-to-arrowhead-stadium-after-2026-world-cup
[3] https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39863822/missouri-voters-reject-stadium-tax-kansas-city-royals-chiefs
[4] https://www.kmbc.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-royals-stadium-debate/63892599
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] See supra note 3.
[8] https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=a7c4456d-3da1-43dd-8fe1-c3cc827f3487
[9] https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/proposed-compromise-over-rams-settlement-money-lauded-by-city-leaders/#:~:text=Louis.-,St.,Stan%20Kroenke%20and%20the%20NFL.