Back To The Stadium Game In Kansas City

Royals and Chiefs ownerships want better facilities.

The Super Bowl is done, Major League Baseball’s Spring Training is underway and in the Kansas City market the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs’ franchise owner Clark Hunt and Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals’ franchise owner John Sherman are still playing the stadium game. Hunt and Sherman were losers in 2024 in the stadium game when Jackson County, Missouri voters said no to extending a sales tax that would have funded a Chiefs’ stadium renovation and Sherman’s Royals’ business would have moved to a stadium in a downtown location. The no decision left both Hunt and Sherman scrambling for Plan B. There was no resolution to the Hunt and Sherman problem but both Hunt and Sherman have hinted that there could be a resolution very soon.

Hunt is talking to Missouri and Kansas officials about building a stadium-village and Sherman is talking to Missouri and Kansas officials. Kansas has made an offer to both owners. “We’re having really good discussions on both sides of the state line,” said the Chiefs’ franchise owner Hunt. “And we’re going to have some really good options, and we’re going to have to make a decision on that in the fairly near future, just because we’re now down to six years left on our lease.” Sherman was pretty vague discussing his stadium issue. “We’re having serious discussions here,” he said. “This is big economic-development work, and discretion and confidentiality are paramount to those discussions. Certainly hopeful that before too long, we’ll be able to tell you a lot more but not a lot to say right now. I would just say that we’re talking to Missouri. They’re very engaged, and I think that remains to be seen how it’s done. But these conversations now are going on on both sides of the state line.” The Kansas City stadium game continues.

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Clark Hunt