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Olathe residents will have an opportunity Tuesday night to question and share concerns with city leaders about a proposed Kansas City Chiefs training facility that has sparked both excitement and concern among community members.
The Olathe City Council will convene at 6 p.m. for a public hearing and vote. Residents can attend in-person or watch the meetings online.
The city is exploring a 165-acre site at the northwest corner of College Boulevard and Ridgeview Road for the Chiefs' headquarters and training facility. Officials are looking to use tax revenue generated in the development area to repay the STAR bonds used to fund the project.
The city council will be tasked with specifying a pledge of local sales and use taxes to help repay STAR bonds issued for the Chiefs project to build a $3 billion, fixed-roof domed stadium in Wyandotte County and a new $300 million team headquarters and training facility in Olathe.
The council will be asked to pledge the following new revenues from within the base revenue area above in green:
- For up to 30 years, all of the city's general sales and use tax that is not committed to other uses by election of voters or pledged to bond repayment (currently 1%) from within the area in green;
- For up to 30 years, all of the city's share (currently 17.63%) of the Johnson County sales tax that is not committed to other uses by election of voters or pledged to bond repayment (currently 0.5%) from within the area in green;
- For up to 30 years, 7% of the city's current 9% transient guest taxes (less any state administrative fees) with respect to sleeping accommodations in any hotel, motel, or tourist court located within the area in green.
The proposed ordinance would exclude revenue from the city's street maintenance sales tax (0.375%), park sales tax (5.125%), and "any other retail sales and compensating use taxes that are committed to other uses by election of voters, any sales taxes generated by existing or future special taxing districts aside from the proposed district (e.g., community improvement districts, tax increment financing districts, or transportation development districts), incremental transient guest tax revenue produced from a levy exceeding 7% not already pledged within any existing tax increment financing districts, and all revenue produced outside" of the area in green.
The revenues would be contingent on the team locating its headquarters within the area in green and the issuance of bonds by a governmental issuer to finance the STAR bond project by Dec. 31, 2030.
"No full faith and credit bonds will be issued by the City to pay the costs of the STAR Bond Project," city staff said in the proposed ordinance. "In no event will the Bonds be deemed to constitute a debt or liability of the City, and the issuance of the Bonds will not obligate the City to levy any form of taxation or to budget or make any appropriation for the repayment of the Bonds."
Some Chiefs fans are thrilled about the possibility. Mike Reynolds said he's happy about the development, calling it "a great thing." A Lenexa resident said they "absolutely love it."
However, others have raised questions about the speed and financial implications of the proposal. Jenny Boudreaux expressed concern about the rapid timeline of the project.
"Well, the speed of all of this is really concerning," Boudreaux said. "I think that's all there are is questions."
Kansas State University economics professor Dan Kuester analyzed the city's financial plans and said he found several concerning elements.
"A couple of things about that seem a little questionable, to be polite," Kuester said. "The rather optimistic assumption is that all these additional revenues are going to be enough to pay for the facility itself. And it doesn't really address the fact that if those revenues fall short, you're still on the hook for this money."
Kuester warned about the long-term financial implications of the project.
"That's what the elected officials are counting on, that they're gonna get all this credit for bringing the Chiefs over and no one's gonna look at the financial implications that are pretty severe," Kuester said. "Just because the bill comes due later doesn't make it less of a bill."
The city has yet to make someone available for our interview requests, but has been responsive over email. A spokesperson confirmed that tonight's meeting will include a public hearing and vote, and that the council can approve or deny the ordinance as presented.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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