Missouri governor begins conversations with Kansas City leaders to keep Chiefs, Royals in state

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s public moment in Kansas City Monday was a ceremonial bill signing that had nothing to do with sports teams. But behind the scenes, he was also meeting with elected officials in two area counties to hammer out a plan to keep the city’s two biggest pro sports teams from fleeing to Kansas.

His visit comes after Kansas passed a law that would allow for a lot of sales tax dollars directed at luring the teams away.

Before meeting with team ownership, he said he needs to be sure he has a unified front.

“There’s lots of options out there, lots of options the state has, the city has and the county has, but all three need to be working in the same direction,” Parson said.

READ MORE: Frank White says he and Gov. Parson had ‘productive conversation’ on keeping Royals, Chiefs in Jackson County

But he also insisted a different version of divide and conquer was essential.

“You’ve got to split the Chiefs and Royals. They are two different entities in two different business adventures here that we’re going to be talking about,” Parson said.

When Jackson County voters nixed a sales tax deal this spring, it was a package deal for both teams. It would have partially funded renovations at Arrowhead in addition to the construction of a new baseball stadium in downtown Kansas City.

The governor said that was a mistake that can’t happen again.

For the Royals, he said, site selection will be important. He did not limit his discussions to just Kansas City and Jackson County. He had three private meetings, one with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, one with Jackson County Executive Frank White, and one with Clay County Commissioners and elected leaders from that county’s City of North Kansas City.

North Kansas City pitched a location to the Royals last year. They ended up in second place when the team selected Kansas City. First they endorsed a site in the East Village with an entertainment village built around it. Then they switched to a site in the East Crossroads, near Power and Light, with no additional entertainment build-out.

That East Crossroads site was at the center of multiple campaigns against the sales tax measure on the ballot.

“I think for the Royals, you’ve got to pick a site. You’ve got to pick a site, figure out what’s it gonna cost, what is the things that you need to build a stadium,” Parson said. “And I think one thing that’s lost is this is much bigger than the stadiums, what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the venues around it.”

As for Arrowhead, Kansas is offering tax-based funding for a whole new stadium, possibly with a retractable dome. Parson is confident Missouri is still in the running with a pitch to keep the unique stadium and provide improvements.

“I think if you refurbish Arrowhead, and the Royals move out, that gives the Chiefs a lot of opportunities in that space,” Parson said. “If you look around the NFL or the major leagues, you’re seeing everybody go into that model is much more than just the stadium itself. And I think you’ll see that here in Kansas City at the end of the day.”

Before the Jackson County sales tax measure went to voters, Chiefs president Mark Donovan was asked about building an entertainment district around Arrowhead, which currently has very little to offer nearby in the realm of restaurants and hotels.

“Right now in this market, this is not a location that is worthy of development,” Donovan said in February.

On the topic of getting all the local governments on the same page, Parson admitted he had an uphill battle with White. The County Executive was adamantly opposed to the 3/8-cent sales tax to support a new Kauffman and renovated Arrowhead.

“I think you have to have a pretty frank talk with Frank,” Parson said shortly before they met. “I think things have changed since then. You know, we were trying to do the initial one with both of them together.”

White issued a lengthy statement following their meeting saying it was a productive conversation in which he told Parson what he has stated publicly for more than a year.

“Maintaining the current financial arrangement is not in the best interest of Jackson County and its residents as it hampers our ability to provide essential health and public safety services,” White wrote. “Governor Parson understands these challenges and commends our commitment to fiscal responsibility.”

White did not give any indication of what elements would need to be included for one team or another to get his support.

“I want to thank Governor Parson for his service to Missouri and for his willingness to work collaboratively with us on this and many other issues,” White concluded his statement. “Together, we can find a solution that ensures the Chiefs and Royals remain a proud part of Jackson County without compromising the financial well-being of our community.”

Parson has only six months left in office. He was confident he could at least get the ball rolling during that time.

“We will be talking with the Chiefs organization, the Royals organization, but today was just the beginning of several meetings,” Parson said.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.