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Missouri Legislators Announce New Plan For Kansas City Chiefs, Arrowhead Stadium

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated May 14, 2025 2:22 PM ET

The Missouri House endorsed incentives to help keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals from leaving the state.

On Tuesday, the Missouri House backed a proposed bill to help fund new or renovated stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals. The legislation would provide tax credits on stadium projects of up to $50 million. States could also issue bonds at up to half of the stadium costs.

Missouri Senate must approve the measure by Friday, and Tuesday's session ended without a vote following a six-hour filibuster.

"I can't imagine the economic landscape without the Chiefs and the Royals in Missouri," Republican state Rep. Chris Brown said on Tuesday, via the Associated Press. "The Chiefs and the Royals literally are a part of us to some degree. They are a fabric woven within the state of Missouri."

These efforts come a year after Kansas passed tax breaks to help lure the Chiefs across state lines. The Missouri governor's office claimed Kansas is "aggressively negotiating with both teams."

Meanwhile, residents of Jackson County voted against a proposed sales tax aimed at helping stadium funding for the Chiefs and Royals in April 2024. At the time, Chiefs president Mark Donovan said the team must do "what is in the best interest of our fans and our organization as we move forward."

KANSAS CITY, MO - SEPTEMBER 29: A general view during the game between the New York Giants and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on September 29, 2013 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Missouri House voted 108-40 in favor of the bill, but it faced some steep opposition from representatives who feel lawmakers haven't done enough to help their constituents. Del Taylor, a Democrat from St. Louis, called it "conniving" to push the plan so late in the session through "fearmongering" threats of the Chiefs and Royals leaving otherwise.

The Chiefs' lease on Arrowhead Stadium expires in January 2031. They've played at the Kansas City complex since 1972 and are eyeing a $800 million renovation project to which the Hunt family would contribute $300 million.

"We would not be willing to sign a lease for another 25 years without the financing to properly renovate and reimagine the stadium," Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said last year. "So the financing puzzle is very important to us to make sure we have enough funds to do everything we've outlined."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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