Chiefs donate to Missouri Republicans after $1.5b stadium proposal as Kansas pushes NFL team to flee state

Don't count out the Show Me State just yet.

With Kansas eagerly trying to lure the NFL's Chiefs and MLB's Royals across state lines, the reigning AFC champions have made $25,000 in donations to republican candidates for the Missouri House amid the team's ongoing efforts to secure renovation funding for Arrowhead Stadium.

The donation, first reported by the Missouri Independent, comes shortly after a $1.5 billion stadium funding plan was approved by the state legislature in hopes of convincing the Chiefs and MLB's Royals to remain in Missouri.

The Missouri Independent reports the Chiefs spent more than $3 million and the Royals added another $2.5 million last year to support a ballot measure extending sales taxes to fund renovations at Arrowhead Stadium as well as a new ballpark in downtown Kansas City.

The donations come at a convenient time for team officials and representatives hoping to avoid the negative publicity that typically comes with publicly funded stadium constructions and renovations.

Not only are the Chiefs gearing up for another Super Bowl run - potentially the final chance for 35-year-old Travis Kelce - but the tight end also welcomed girlfriend and Donald Trump nemesis Taylor Swift onto his popular podcast this week, thereby drawing the spotlight away from Arrowhead Stadium's future.

Meanwhile, with fans focused on the Chiefs' immediate future, team officials have pressed ahead with varying options for a future home.

After decades of playing alongside each other at the Truman Sports Complex, the Chiefs and Royals will each see their respective leases expire in January of 2031.

While the Chiefs have supported republican candidates in this effort, the Missouri Independent reports that two GOP state legislators filed lawsuits in July to defeat the measure, which they called 'unconstitutional' because it also addressed matters unrelated to stadiums.

Despite Missouri's efforts, neighboring Kansas remains a potential destination for both the Chiefs and Royals.

Last month, a committee in the Kansas legislature extended a deadline for both teams to accept state financing for new stadiums.

And the teams are hearing competitive offers from both Kansas and Missouri.

Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe initially approved legislation to authorize bonds to pay for up to 50 percent of the cost of stadium construction (Royals) and renovation (Chiefs). Kansas responded by offering bonds that could cover 70 percent of those costs should either team choose to switch states, but Missouri has since followed with an additional funding package.

'We've had more meetings, more discussions,' Chiefs president Mark Donovan said in July. 'At this point it's literally - you're taking an agreement this long and whittling it down to this paragraph and this line, and we need an agreement on this, and we're doing this on both sides. You're in that process where you're not sure which way it will go.'

Previously, in April of 2024, Jackson County rejected a sales tax proposal that would have helped to renovate Arrowhead Stadium while providing the Royals with a ballpark in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

Now the teams are fighting separate battles to secure their future homes.