KC-area Democrat urges Governor to call special session
By Joe McLean (KFVS)
Published: Jun. 5, 2024 at 2:58 PM CDT|Updated: Jun. 5, 2024 at 5:31 PM CDT
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KFVS) - As Kansas lawmakers develop plans to lure the Kansas City Chiefs football team over the state line, Missouri state legislators implied Wednesday they don’t intend to let the back-to-back Super Bowl champions go without a fight.
Kansas City-area state Rep. Mark Sharp, a Democrat, said he plans to call on Republican Gov. Mike Parson to convene a special session for the state’s General Assembly to mitigate attempts by the Sunflower State to pass new STAR Bond legislation in its special legislative session set for June 18. The legislation would allow the state to offer attractive bonds aimed at luring a major sports franchise to the state.
“We can’t just sit idly by and just allow Kansas to steal our Kansas City Chiefs right in front of us,” said Sharp. “We have to be aggressive and we have to be as aggressive as the Kansas legislature is currently. So, I’ll be urging the governor … to call for a special session session so that we can try to address some of these huge concerns.”
A spokesperson for the Kansas City Chiefs declined to comment.
“The Kansas City Chiefs have a long, rich history at Arrowhead Stadium, and we remain optimistic that their story will continue in Missouri for generations to come,” said Johnathan Shiflett, Press Secretary for the Governor’s Office. “Governor Parson will do what he can to keep the Chiefs in Missouri. The Chiefs are Missouri’s team, and Governor Parson continues conversations with the team’s leadership to ensure that remains.”
If the Chiefs were to leave Missouri, it would represent the second NFL team to depart the state in the last decade – after the Rams returned to Los Angeles in 2015, following a 20-year stay in St. Louis.
House Majority Floor Leader Jonathan Patterson, R-Lees Summit, who is poised to become the next Speaker of the House, said he doesn’t believe a special session is necessary, but said the state of Missouri should make every feasible effort to retain the lucrative franchise.
“It just serves as a reminder that these are great assets for any state to have and that other states are willing to compete for them,” Patterson said. “I think we should be able to compete for them as well and we should do everything we can in our power to make sure that the Royals and Chiefs stay in Missouri.”
Patterson noted that the Chiefs’ contract doesn’t expire until 2031 and warned against the state’s response being rushed.
“I think it’s best to take a measured approach and make sure that we have a plan,” Patterson said. “Certainly, this is going to be something that is going to require that the state to help out to keep these teams, but I don’t think we should rush in anything and make sure that we’re doing the best thing for the taxpayers.”
Missouri House Minority Whip Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said while the Chiefs moving across the state line may preserve a sizable portion of its local fanbase, the economic impact on the state of Missouri would be significant.
“The implications of losing the incredible tax revenue and PR that the Chiefs have given to our state over the last several years, it would be devastating to our state,” Aune said. “I genuinely hope that whoever is our next governor takes that into consideration and realizes what an enormous impact the Chiefs have had, and will continue to have, if we do our best to keep them here.”
Another KC-area Democrat, State Rep. Richard Brown, said Missourians should remember the relationship these sports franchises have with local governments is fundamentally about one thing: money.
“People must remember that Major League Baseball and the NFL are businesses,” said State Rep. Richard Brown, D-Kansas City. “There was a plan to build the Royals a new stadium and to make renovations to Arrowhead to accommodate the Chiefs. “A deal was worked out and ballot language was agreed upon, but 58% of the voters on that day rejected the deal.”
Brown said he believes the Chiefs would have been satisfied staying put – if voters had approved a recent 3/8 cent sales tax proposal, which voters ultimately rejected.
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