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Wyandotte County commissioners approved a STAR bond district for a new Chiefs stadium Thursday night in a 7-3 vote.
The approval by the commissioners means Wyandotte County will pledge a percentage of its sales tax dollars to help pay for the new Chiefs stadium development.
"This was not an easy decision to make, but it's not as cut-and-dry as people think it is," Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Christal Watson said after Thursday’s vote.
Watson supported the measure and would have voted in favor of the proposal if her vote was needed to break a tie.
She said the ordinance that passed will now go before the state for review.
The agreement faced strong opposition from residents, with several dozen people speaking against it during Tuesday's public hearing.
"Please vote no on this ordinance," one resident said during the hearing.
Commissioner Andrew Davis, who represents District 8, cast one of the three no votes Thursday night.
He said commissioners had limited time to review the complex agreement.
"We had about 60 days from the vote of the legislative coordinating committee to when we needed to make a decision on our local pledge," Davis said. "That's just not a ton of time in my opinion to really arrive at something we could comfortably defend in front of our constituents."
Davis said his opposition was multi-faceted, including wanting written commitments about the state's contributions to local infrastructure and needing more time to review the details.
"I just wanted to get more answers and see if we can get some additional commitments and clarity," Davis said. "I don't necessarily want to rely on precedent or rely on kind of relationship, I would also like to rely on something that we can hold ourselves to."
Davis said he wanted to see something in writing saying the state would offset costs by making commitments to local infrastructure.
He also wanted more information about potential local incentives being contemplated, including tax increment financing, property tax exemptions and community improvement districts.
"We had just had the public hearing two days prior," Davis said. "Initially, there wasn't a ton of information."
Commissioner Phil Lopez of District 6 also voted against the measure.
"The developers need us,” Lopez said. “We don't need them. I consider myself; I'm not a politician, I'm a statesman. A politician is for the next election, and a statesman is for the next generation."
Commissioner Chuck Stites also voted no but declined to comment.
Lopez said he's concerned about what the deal will mean for future generations.
"I'm always worried about the next generation,” Lopez said. “I mean, I'm not gonna, there's a pretty good chance I'm not going to be around in 2056. So what's it going to leave our future?" Lopez said.
Despite his opposition to the current agreement, Davis acknowledged the reality of the situation moving forward.
"I want the Kansas City Chiefs to be in Wyandotte County," Davis said. "Now that we are here, let's get the best deal possible, and let's make sure that as we're going through these land entitlements and everything else, we are fair to all parties, and let's try to make this as big of a success as we can."
Commissioner Chuck Stites also voted no but declined to comment.
Watson said she would have voted yes if given the opportunity, citing the need to rebuild relationships with state officials.
"I would have voted yes, because for the past four years we've lacked a relationship with the state, and I think that to a certain degree hurt us," Watson said. "We need to be partners at the end of the day with our state and federal officials."
Watson acknowledged community concerns, but asked residents to trust the decision.
"I would tell them to just give us an opportunity to trust the decision we had to make," Watson said. "I just want the community to know that we do hear them and we do want what's best for our community."
The mayor said the county can benefit from the Chiefs playing in Wyandotte County beyond the stadium itself.
"I think that we have an opportunity to be a real partner with the Chiefs," Watson said. "As our attorney said, they have been very philanthropic in Jackson County, and even outside of the state of Missouri for that matter."
Watson said the state has already committed to infrastructure improvements, including work on the Central Avenue Bridge.
"They were already doing some work on I-70, so it just made sense to go ahead and throw Central Avenue Bridge in there," Watson said. "Again, they're not giving us a check, but those are just funds that they're putting into our community that are gonna help."
County leaders said there are more aspects to the stadium development the county could benefit from like land use entitlement work and any possible local incentives, but those would need further talks with the Chiefs.
Watson said there are additional negotiations and documentation that need to be completed by May.
Davis said despite his no vote, he remains optimistic about the project's potential.
"We still have a lot of work to do," he said. "I want this to be successful, but last night, I just didn't have enough information to say yes. Getting the details right and getting the cost and maintenance and projections right can really be catalytic for our community."
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