KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com.
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Missouri may yet offer the Chiefs and Royals tax dollars to help pay for stadium projects thanks to a new bill introduced Monday during the legislature’s special session.
Senate Bill 3 brings back elements of a bill that failed to pass during the regular session. The new bill creates the Show-Me Sports Investment Act.
SB3 would redirect the tax dollars generated at a stadium back to the professional sports teams to use the money to pay off construction bonds.
To qualify, stadiums must have more than 30,000 seats, must serve a professional baseball or football team, and any new project — whether a renovation or new build — must cost at least $500 million.
Under those criteria, Missouri will redirect state sales tax, state income tax, and nonresident professional athletes and entertainers state income tax back to the teams to pay for construction.
The redirect can take place for up to 30 years. If teams relocate out of state within the loan period, they must repay the money.
“These are Kansas City sports teams, Missouri sports teams and I’d like to keep them on our side of the border,” said Sen. Kurtis Gregory, a Republican from Marshall who is sponsoring SB3.
Kansas is currently offering to help pay for 70% of a stadium project through STAR Bonds. That offer expires June 30, unless Kansas leaders opt to extend it one year.
The looming deadline puts pressure on Missouri.
“The clock is working against us at this time,” Gregory admitted. “It’s the bottom of the ninth with two outs, it’s the fourth quarter with 13 seconds left, and we have to go down and score. Patrick Mahomes did it, I’m hoping maybe we can do that, too.”
The top Democrat in the Senate said Monday that stadiums are at the bottom of his party's list of priorities. Rather, Democrats are focused on funding disaster relief for victims of a tornado in St Louis.
They also want to expand Gov. Mike Kehoe’s proclamation of a special session so that it includes funding for a mental health facility in Kansas City and more money for a cancer research facility in Columbia.
“My focus is this is the first part of it," said Sen. Doug Beck, Democrat floor leader. “What we do for the people in St Louis with the tornado and cancer research and all those things, until that happens and is through the House and on the governor’s desk, then we can talk about the other [stadium] bill.”
The House did not meet Monday. It will take up whatever bills the Senate sends to it.
Minority House Floor Leader Ashley Aune, of Platte County, said she supports stadium funding and rejects holding it hostage on account of other priorities.
“I think we can do all of these things,” Aune said. “Trying to pit one against the other, it frankly just puts Kansas City against St. Louis, and that doesn't do any good for anybody.”
Senators will assign bills to committees Tuesday and begin holding hearings. They hope to bring bills back to the Senate floor for debate Wednesday and send them to the House by the end of the week.
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