Kansas offers bond plan to lure Missouri pro football, baseball teams
3 min readKansas will greatly expand its sales and tax revenue bond program in an effort to entice the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball to move across the border from Missouri, under legislation Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law on Friday.
During a special legislative session just three days earlier, lawmakers overwhelmingly approved
Nearly $65 million of unrated tax-exempt STAR bonds Overland Park issued in 2012 for the 61.5-acre Prairiefire development that includes a museum, retail, offices, and housing, defaulted in December when sufficient
Those bonds, which were priced with a top yield of 6% for the 2032 maturity, were flagged
The 2021 legislative audit looked at when the state would recoup tax revenue it gave up for STAR bonds. In the case of Prairiefire, the audit determined the breakeven point might be between 13 and 71 years after the bonds’ 2032 final maturity.
Overland Park’s $14.1 million of unrated taxable and tax-exempt community improvement district revenue bonds that were also issued for the project in 2012 defaulted in 2022 on an interest payment that was subsequently made. Last week,
Debt issued by the Wyandotte County/Kansas City Unified Government for the first STAR bond project — the Kansas Speedway NASCAR venue, which the 2021 audit found did meet tourism goals — has also been shaky.
Bonds
More STAR bond issuance could be coming with the city council in Bonner Springs, Kansas,
The expanded STAR bond plan surfaced during the waning days of the Republican-controlled legislature’s 2024 session after the April 2 defeat of a stadium tax across the border in Jackson County, which includes Kansas City, Missouri.
The sales tax hike would have raised more than $50 million annually to subsidize venues for the two franchises.
Representatives for the teams expressed interest in the Kansas bill at a joint legislative committee hearing last week.
David Frantze, a partner at Stinson law firm who spoke on behalf of the Royals, said the failed sales tax vote in Missouri has forced the team to look at alternatives.
“This STAR bond legislation you are considering offers a very good opportunity for us to explore an option in the state of Kansas,” he said.
A joint letter from Missouri’s Show-Me Institute and the Kansas Policy Institute last week
“These subsidies never live up to their economic promises; they only divert funds away from important city and state services,” the letter stated.
While tax-exempt bond issuance for professional sports stadiums could face congressional
Utah’s governor in March signed into law bills