Kansas Mayor Endorses Sports Betting In Hopes Of Luring KC Chiefs, Royals To Relocate

Kansas City Mayor Tyrone Garner has endorsed the idea of using sports betting revenue and STAR bonds to attract two major league franchises – the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and the MLB's Kansas City Royals – to move from Missouri to the Kansas side of the city.

Kansas City to use sports betting revenue and STAR bonds to help relocate the Chiefs and Royals to the Sunflower State

Both the Chiefs and Royals play in Kansas City, Missouri. However, Jackson County residents recently voted against a proposed sales tax measure that would have been used to fund a new stadium for the Royals and renovations to the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium.

Garner wants the professional sports teams to know that Wyandotte County is more than willing to accept both franchises. The county has a population of 169,245, according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-most populous county in the Sunflower State.

“It offers a real opportunity to keep those organizations here in the Kansas City metropolitan area,” Garner said. “I want the Chiefs and the Royals, those leadership teams, to know that we're open for business and we're economically, developmentally hungry.”

Garner said his main goal is to keep both teams in the city. Although Kansas City's 30th mayor said he has not spoken with either team yet, he has been speaking with state legislators.

Modified STAR Bond program to attract the teams is scheduled at a session next Tuesday, June 18

Additionally, Garner said he doesn't see this situation as a turf war. Considering the April sales tax vote fell through in Jackson County, the mayor is offering the teams a fresh new start on the Kansas side.

“I don't want people to think it's a border war because it's not,” he said. “I don't think that we're in competition because we're not. We want to keep two good organizations right here in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

“We want those teams to know that it may not have worked out on the Missouri side, so we'd like to give you options on the Kansas side.”

Furthermore, the modified STAR Bond program to attract the teams is scheduled at a special session next Tuesday, June 18. STAR Bonds are loans that allow developers to build attractions.

The state and other municipalities pay back the bond using sales tax revenue generated at the venue. Only people buying things within the site pay for the bond.

Since STAR Bonds do not require voter approval, if they're approved in this special session, it will be official. The Children's Mercy Park and Kansas Speedway used STAR Bonds.