The Unified Government of Wyandotte County has approved what could be a $450 million incentive package to help finance a new stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs are building a 65,000-seat, $3 billion domed stadium that is expected to be ready for the 2031 season. The stadium and an adjacent $325 million entertainment district are expected to take up about 235 acres near the Kansas Speedway.
In Johnson County, the Olathe City Council approved another Chiefs-related development earlier this week. The team headquarters and training facility would take over a 165-acre development costing around $400 million, KCUR reported.
The ordinance in Wyandotte County promises to divert certain sales tax revenue in the stadium district for 30 years or until the bonds, known as STAR bonds, are paid off. Specifically, those sales taxes include:
- The 1% sales and use tax that is not being spent elsewhere.
- A 93.1733% share of the 1% county sales and use tax not otherwise allocated.
- And up to 8% of transient guest taxes.
An emergency medical services sales tax and the public safety and neighborhood infrastructure tax are not included in the stadium subsidy.
The local tax breaks could total $350 million to $450 million. The Unified Government expects the project to generate $488 million in revenue, netting the county at least $38 million over 30 years.
The ordinance was approved on a 7-3 vote. Commissioners Chuck Stites, Philip Lopez and Andrew Davis voted no.
The stadium is going on a plot of land that doesn’t have any development, so any tax revenue generated there is new, said Todd LaSala, economic development attorney for the Unified Government. The county also estimated the benefit to the city as conservatively as they could and estimated expenses from the project on the higher end.
Their goal was to estimate benefits on the low end of the scale, and even those estimates showed the county making money.
Most economists say that sports stadiums don’t create as much new development as supporters claim. The Beacon reported in January that the state’s economic development numbers were inflated. Certain estimates, like the number of people who will watch Chiefs games in the district, were drastically overestimated, economists said.
Commissioners held a separate public meeting Tuesday so residents could weigh in on the deal. A parade of people told commissioners not to approve it.
“Tonight should be a night of celebration … But we can’t celebrate because we are faced with this choice of no revenue but a stack of bills for our city services that have to be provided in that district,” James Bain, a resident of Kansas City, Kansas, told commissioners on Tuesday.
There were few who spoke in support of diverting future sales tax revenue for the Chiefs. Some opponents complained about handing over money to billionaires — the Hunt family that owns the Chiefs has an estimated net worth of almost $25 billion.
Then came concerns about what happens to residents who already live near the project, transparency concerns about the deal, and suspicion of another development that is supposed to revitalize the area when so many others have failed to meet expectations — like the now-closed Schlitterbahn water park and the former Cerner office complex.
Multiple residents were concerned about the city’s inability to adequately fund government functions when giving millions of dollars for decades.
“This is one of the stupidest ideas I’ve seen,” said Dave Druten, a Kansas City, Kansas, resident who also spoke Tuesday. “This will be the Chiefs’ third state and fourth stadium.”
Others said spending future tax money on a football stadium isn’t smart when roads need to be repaired and schools need investment. The county estimated $396 million in infrastructure costs for the stadium, which can be paid for by STAR bonds.
County officials countered that the Unified Government would actually end up making $231.7 million in the end. They said STAR bonds would pay for certain infrastructure, which means the county wouldn’t have to pay for it.
Commissioner Melissa Bynum said she received 527 emails about this project, most in support of it.
LaSala said there was no guarantee the Chiefs would pick the same location if the ordinance was voted down. Even if they picked the spot, he warned that future negotiations would exclude Wyandotte County. Agreements with the state to fund certain construction projects near the stadium could also be in jeopardy, he said.
“If you voted no, it sends an interesting, if not a dismissive message to the Kansas City Chiefs, who want to choose Wyandotte County as their home,” LaSala said.
This story was originally published by The Beacon, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
