Chiefs, Royals to Likely Stay in Missouri After State Passes Incentives Package

Both professional teams have been rumored to jump across the state line to Kansas.

A general view outside Arrowhead Stadium before the AFC Championship game. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs and Royals will likely stay in Missouri after the state's House approved a stadium incentives package on Wednesday. Missouri governor Mike Kehoe will need to sign the plan, which he is expected to do.

With the package, which passed 90 to 58, will "pay for up to 50% of new or improved stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals using tax revenue generated by the teams toward payment of bonds," via the Kansas City Star.

There have been rumors for quite some time of both professional teams jumping across the border into Kansas. The state of Kansas was expected to pay up to 70% of the stadiums.

The result of the vote is a controversial one as many Missourians saw both sides, mostly for financial reasons. The state would've lost revenue from the teams moving out of Missouri, but now the state will pay a big chunk of change to keep the teams.

However, it's important to note that neither the Chiefs nor the Royals have confirmed their intentions to stay in Missouri. There still may need to be local support in the Kansas City area to provide more funding for the teams.

If the Chiefs stay in Missouri, the plan is to renovate the team's current home, GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The Royals, however, have looked into leaving Kauffman Stadium, which shares its parking lots with Arrowhead, to move to another part of the city.

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