Allison Kite/Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — The Kansas City Royals or Chiefs could receive hundreds of millions of dollars in sales tax revenue to move from Missouri and build new stadiums in Kansas under legislation passed Tuesday by the House.
After an hour of debate, the House voted 84-38 to approve legislation that would expand a state incentive program in an attempt to lure one or both teams from Kansas City.
It now heads to the Kansas Senate, which is expected to take up the bill Tuesday afternoon.
State Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Republican from Stilwell, said Missouri had a history of losing professional sports teams and implored fellow House members to pass the legislation.
“I ask you today, do you really want to put that type of an economic generation in the hands of the state of Missouri?” Tarwater said just before the vote.
Passage of the bill would represent a monumental step in Kansas lawmakers’ attempts to court the two teams, both of which support the proposal. Both teams have signaled a willingness to move from their current stadiums at the Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City, Missouri.
The bill was not voted on by any legislative committee. It would expand the state’s Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bond program, which is meant to help finance tourism and entertainment districts, to help pay for a professional football or baseball stadium of at least $1 billion.
A developer building a stadium under the program would be eligible to finance up to 70% of the project cost by issuing bonds and repaying them with the increased sales tax collections from the stadium site. The expansion would have initially allowed up to 75% of project costs but was tweaked before introduction. Debt on a stadium constructed under the expansion wouldn’t have to be repaid for 30 years instead of the normal 20.
The project could also receive a boost from liquor taxes generated in the STAR Bond district and revenues from a fund Kansas created when it legalized sports betting.
The bill limits the eligibility to National Football League or Major League Baseball teams currently near Kansas. The financing mechanism could be used for both stadiums and training facilities.
Both teams have pressed lawmakers in recent weeks to pass the bill with representatives from the Royals hosting dinner for Democratic lawmakers at a steakhouse Monday night and the Chiefs throwing a lunchtime block party Tuesday steps from the Capitol.
Earlier this month, a nonprofit called “Scoop and Score Inc.” launched to advocate for a Kansas stadium deal. The organization, which does not have to disclose its donors, hired 30 lobbyists to advocate for the STAR Bond expansion legislation.