Gov. Kelly and Kansas City Chiefs Announce $3B State-of-the-Art Domed Stadium in Kansas
New stadium and mixed-use entertainment project is expected to create 20,000 jobs and generate more than $4 billion in economic impact for state
TOPEKA, Kan. – Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas City Chiefs today announced an agreement to build a domed stadium and mixed-use entertainment district, as well as a new team headquarters, training facility and mixed-use development in Kansas. The project will deliver a massive economic win for the state, with the construction phase alone creating over 20,000 jobs and $4.4 billion in economic impact. Once complete, the stadium will generate over $1 billion in annual economic impact.
The agreement includes two distinct parts: (1) a $3 billion stadium in Wyandotte County, set to open at the start of the 2031 NFL season; and (2) a new Chiefs headquarters and training facility in the City of Olathe in Johnson County. Both sites will feature mixed-use developments that could include sports, entertainment, dining, shopping, office, hotel and residential properties.
The agreement was approved today by the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC) with strong bipartisan support. It will be a public-private partnership between the state and the Chiefs organization – and it will require no funds from the current state budget and no new taxes on Kansans.
The Chiefs announcement adds to the Kelly-Toland administration's unprecedented streak of winning business investment projects that create jobs and grow Kansas' economy. Since 2019, Kansas has attracted more than $30 billion in capital investment and created or retained almost 78,000 jobs.
"Kansas has had a streak of big economic wins, but nothing is bigger than this. This is truly once-in-a-generation," said Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland, who led the state team that negotiated the deal with the Chiefs. "This happened because we brought Democrats and Republicans together to do what was best for Kansas – landing our state a huge economic win without requiring a single dollar from the state budget or a tax increase on Kansans. This historic win is the latest in a series of major economic victories for Kansas, including the Panasonic facility, which all tell the same story: the future for Kansas, its workers and its economy is very exciting."
The project will be financed through a public-private partnership with a 60% public and 40% private split. The public portion is funded through Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) bonds and the Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund – both funding mechanisms established specifically for this purpose – to ensure no new state taxes and no impact on the state budget. The STAR bonds were authorized today by a bipartisan vote of the Legislative Coordinating Council. The STAR bonds have two components: (1) they allow the state to designate a portion of new state sales tax revenues generated by this project in neighboring communities to fund it; (2) they allow Wyandotte County and the City of Olathe to designate a portion of their local sales tax revenue generated by this project to pay for it.
The Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund was established by the legislature to dedicate revenue generated from iLottery and sports betting to recruit professional sports teams.
The Hunt Family is also committing $1 billion in additional development, a portion of which can also be incentivized by STAR bonds.
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