Former Kansas House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., an Olathe Republican, is quietly working with unnamed parties interested in bringing the Kansas City Chiefs across the border, The Star has learned.

Jackson County voters’ rejection of a stadiums sales tax opens a new opportunity for Kansas to attempt to lure one or both teams. Ryckman and his mystery stakeholders are betting the time is right.

“Jackson County fumbled. Now there will be a mad scramble for the ball and we’re in the best position for a scoop and score,” Ryckman said in a text message to The Star.

As the Chiefs and Royals have publicly weighed their options ahead of the expiration of their leases at Truman Sports Complex in 2031, rumblings about a possible move across state lines by one of the teams – often the Chiefs – have only grown. Jackson County would have likely put that speculation to rest with approval of the tax; now, the attention on Kansas is expected to grow.

Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly – who placed a winning bet on the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl for the 2022 season – has openly flirted with the idea of drawing the Chiefs. She has made clear that a truce with Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson to end the use of economic incentives to relocate businesses within the Kansas City metro across state lines wouldn’t apply.

“You know, I would be all for it, obviously. When I signed the border war truce with Missouri, it didn’t include the Chiefs,” Kelly said in March 2022.

Kelly’s office didn’t respond on Wednesday to a request for comment.

Ryckman, who spent six years as Kansas speaker, the longest tenure in modern state history, wouldn’t name who he is working with on attracting the Chiefs.

But the former speaker framed a new stadium in Kansas as a project that would solidify the Kansas City region as the team’s permanent home, while opening doors to Super Bowls, Big 12 football championships, bowl games and The Final Four, which would likely require some kind of stadium cover. In a statement, he also referenced revenue Kansas has received from legalized sports betting, which began in the fall of 2022.

When the Kansas Legislature legalized sports betting, lawmakers directed 80% of revenue collected by the state into a new fund intended to help attract professional sports teams to the state. The fund has about $4.1 million currently; the state budget office has previously predicted it could accumulate $10 million by 2025.

“Thanks to the smart economic planning and the allocation of sports gaming bill proceeds, Kansas taxpayers will see minimal costs,” Ryckman said. “We are excited about the potential to create a mutually beneficial partnership between the Chiefs and Kansas. Together, we look forward to the exciting opportunities ahead.”

Chiefs jerseys lined the wall on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, at Rally House Legends, 1867 Village West Pkwy., in Kansas City, Kansas. The store is geared up for Chiefs fans shopping this week ahead of the AFC Championship game on Sunday at Arrowhead. If the Chiefs win the AFC Championship, the store plans to open af the conclusion of the game to sell championship shirts and gear. Tammy Ljungblad [email protected]

Kansas could deploy STAR bonds

$10 million is a very small amount compared to the cost of a new stadium, which would run upwards of $3 billion. The Chiefs had proposed an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium, the team’s home since 1972, with the Hunt family expected to contribute $300 million. Jackson County’s ⅜-cent sales tax would have gone toward annual operational and maintenance costs.

Still, the funding could help kickstart a serious effort to attract the Chiefs, with the actual financing of a stadium coming from other sources. And Kansas has an economic weapon – STAR bonds – that has no identical match in Missouri.

STAR bonds, short for sales tax revenue bonds, are a state-run program that allows municipalities to finance the development of major projects. Municipalities issue bonds to pay for construction, which are then paid off by future sales tax revenues.

The program is controversial because sales tax revenue from new development can be diverted toward paying off bonds for years, even decades, limiting the direct benefit to government revenues. Critics say the program has also been used inappropriately for projects that are too small, but supporters say the bonds present a low risk to the state and bring in attractions that would not have otherwise located in Kansas.

STAR bonds were used to develop the Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County, a project generally seen as a model use of the program, which was also used to build Children’s Mercy Park where Sporting KC plays. A new Chiefs stadium – whether near the Legends or elsewhere – would almost certainly represent the kind of project envisioned for STAR bonds.

Kansas using STAR bonds to attract the Chiefs would generate protests from Missouri politicians, who say such a move would violate the terms of Kelly and Parson’s agreement to end the so-called “border war” of dueling economic incentives between the two states. Prior to the signed agreement between the two governors, the two states had at times used incentives to convince businesses to relocate across state lines.

“It is my view that the border war truce, even after this vote, still is in place where we don’t try to poach businesses from one side or the other,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas told KCUR host Steve Kraske on Wednesday.

Kansas City, Kansas, Acting Mayor Tom Burroughs predicted a Chiefs stadium would easily qualify for STAR bonds (Mayor Tyrone Garner has been on a leave of absence for a medical procedure since early February). The Kansas Department of Commerce, currently controlled by the Kelly administration, would have to sign off on any STAR bond request.

“The opportunity for a major sports franchise to relocate into Wyandotte County would always be welcomed here,” Burroughs said.

Burroughs said he has not had any discussions with any formal group trying to bring the Chiefs to Kansas.

“But I would just state when you look at the economic activity that is occurring in the Legends area, west of (Interstate) 435, all the way out to (K-) 7 highway, it is reasonable to believe that there would be plenty of land available to build either stadium,” Burroughs said.

The New York Times in 2022 reported that Homefield LLC, which controls hundreds of acres where a potential future stadium could be located and whose owners include Sporting KC executives, had advocated for inclusion of the fund to attract professional sports teams in the legislation that authorized sports betting in Kansas.

Greg Kindle, president of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, said Wednesday that the Village West area would be a natural consideration. But he said there are several locations across Kansas City, Kansas, Bonner Springs and Edwardsville that could work for one or both teams.

“In light of the decision made by the voters yesterday, I think everyone is looking at what the opportunities might be to keep the Royals and the Chiefs in the region,” Kindle said. “And I suspect that the Royals and Chiefs will have an opportunity to explore a number of options in the region, including Wyandotte County.”

Missouri, Kansas state aid uncertain

If Kansas makes a significant push for the Chiefs, the team would have to weigh the offer against the prospect of going back to Jackson County voters again.

After losing the sales tax vote, 58% to 42%, Chiefs president Mark Donovan and Royals owner John Sherman ignored a shouted question at a watch party Tuesday night about whether the teams will stay in the county. The campaign for the sales tax – formally called the Committee to Keep the Chiefs and Royals in Jackson County – had operated on the implied threat that one or both teams would leave if the ballot measure failed.

“We will do and will look to do what is in the best interest of our fans and our organization moving forward,” Donovan said at the watch party.

Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca, who had supported the sales tax, told reporters on Tuesday night that he would “encourage” Kansas to make a serious play for one of the teams. “If for no other reason than regionalism, right? I mean, my Charlie Hustle shirt will say KC whether it’s here or Kansas,” Abarca said.

Jackson County Executive Frank White, who opposed the ballot measure and frequently clashed with Abarca, said “that’s up to the team” when asked what he would do if the Chiefs or Royals try to move to Kansas.

“All I can do is bring them to the table and hammer out a deal that’s good for Jackson County,” White said. “If the teams want to leave, they can leave, because they can, but it wouldn’t be the result of us not being fair to both teams.”

During the campaign for the ballot measure, the teams never made clear exactly how much aid from Missouri they would seek – and Parson, who would sign any appropriation, didn’t say what he would be willing to approve. An effort by Kansas to lure the Chiefs would raise questions about what Missouri lawmakers might be willing to do, if anything, to keep the team in the state.

On Tuesday before the outcome of the vote was known, Missouri House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, said he was very worried about the Chiefs leaving if the tax failed. But he also cast doubt on state funding for the teams.

“I’m supportive of keeping the Royals and the Chiefs in Kansas City, but the state budget is required for a lot of different programs around the state and right now it’s very difficult to see how we could allocate money directly to the Chiefs and Royals for a new stadium,” said Patterson, who is also the likely next Missouri House speaker.

Missouri currently has a historically high budget surplus, which hit an estimated peak of $8 billion last year. But as lawmakers finalize their spending plan for the next fiscal year, some have cautioned that the surplus is largely due to federal pandemic aid.

The Missouri House is poised to approve its version of a roughly $50 billion budget that does not include state funding for the Chiefs or Royals stadium projects.

Missouri Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, an Independence Democrat, said it would be “incredibly difficult” for the General Assembly to provide funding this year when Jackson County residents themselves voted down county-level aid.

But Rizzo also cautioned Kansas over attempting to aggressively lure the Chiefs.

“I would be very hesitant getting out over my skis if I were in Kansas and giving, or at least even making an offer that required a lot of money, without having a lot of influence or input from taxpayers,” Rizzo said.

Kansas lawmakers this week appeared generally excited by the prospect of the Chiefs moving into the state. “I would love to have the Chiefs, I’d love to have either one of them,” Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, said Wednesday.

They were less willing to get into specifics about what kind of aid they would potentially support.

Kansas state Sen. Pat Pettey, a Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat, said there’s definitely interest in moving one or both teams across state lines. But the logistics and financing depends on what Kansas and local officials are willing to put in, she said, adding “that’s a whole other ballgame.”

“I’m sure we would love to have them because they’re our teams, right?” Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft, an Overland Park Republican, said. “But at the same time we want to make sure we’re doing the right thing for the state of Kansas.

The Star’s Jenna Barackman, Eleanor Nash and Anna Sago contributed reporting.

This story was originally published April 3, 2024, 3:33 PM.