Taxpayers Are Tired Of Paying Billions For Sports Stadiums

Jackson County residents voted "No" on a multi-billion-dollar tax proposal that would fund new stadium projects for the Chiefs and Royals, ultimately betting that relocation threats are meaningless.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Royals have spent several months (and millions of dollars) trying to convince local taxpayers to extend an existing sales tax that would enable them to renovate Arrowhead Stadium and build a new downtown MLB ballpark.

The pitch was simple. This sales tax has already been in place for two decades. It only costs taxpayers 38 cents for every $100 they spend in the county. And by extending the tax another 40 years, the proposal would provide both teams with adequate money to fund new construction projects, ultimately keeping them in Kansas City long past their existing lease at Truman Sports Complex, which is set to expire in January 2031.

To raise the stakes even higher, just weeks before the vote, Chiefs president Mark Donovan said the team would “have to look at all our options” if the ballot measure failed, indicating the back-to-back Super Bowl champions would consider relocation.