Fans cheer as Kansas City Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone (14) comes up to bat in the second inning in the game against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Tammy Ljungblad tljungblad@kcstar.com
Inside his Missouri Capitol office, Gov. Mike Kehoe touted a sweeping incentives package as a key tool to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals inside state lines.
State lawmakers passed, and Kehoe signed, the plan earlier this month, allowing the state to pay up to 50% of new stadiums for the teams. But another tool viewed as a way to keep one of the teams in Missouri is on the governor’s desk awaiting his signature.
The legislation would allow Clay County to create a sports complex authority similar to the one in Jackson County that controls the leases for both teams — potentially opening the door for a new Chiefs training facility or a Royals stadium in Clay County. If it doesn’t lure one of the teams, supporters say, it could simply help the county’s tourism economy.
The language, which was added as an amendment to a massive bill related to county governments, received little attention when it passed both chambers of the General Assembly last month. But supporters view it as another factor in the ongoing fight over the teams with Kansas.
Clay County Commissioner Scott Wagner said that Northland officials have had conversations with the Royals for the past two years. Those discussions, he said, led to the understanding that the county would need to contribute local funds to attract the team.
“Part of that discussion yielded the need to try to come up with some sort of sports authority,” Wagner said.
If Kehoe signs the bill, the new law would authorize Clay County to create a sports complex authority “for the purposes of developing, maintaining, or operating…sports, convention, exhibition, or trade facilities.”
The sports authority would operate as a state governmental agency with five commissioners appointed by the governor. If the authority secures a professional sports team from the NFL, NHL or the American League of the MLB, lawmakers would be able to contribute up to $3 million in state funding each year to help pay for its operations.
The legislation comes as Missouri and Kansas have jockeyed over the past several months for the ability to house either team. While lawmakers in both states have approved incentives packages for the teams, the Chiefs and Royals have not yet committed to either state.
A spokesperson for the Royals declined to comment on the bill.
Downtown vs. Clay County stadiums
If the Royals decide to stay in Missouri, a potential fight over the team between Kansas City and Clay County could be on the horizon. But, supporters of creating the Clay County authority argue the bill is intended to prevent the team from leaving for Kansas — not spark competition between the city and the Northland.
“As long as they stay in Missouri and citizens get to have their say, of course there would have to be a vote in Clay County, I’m OK with that,” House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, told reporters when asked about a potential bidding war over the teams in Missouri. “But, for me, I think the main thing is keeping the teams in Missouri.”
A downtown Kansas City site at Washington Square Park and a spot in North Kansas City in Clay County have both been floated as potential Royals stadium sites in Missouri. But news of a recent real estate deal tied to an Overland Park site in Kansas has also intensified speculation about the Royals’ intentions — and their preferred stadium location.
Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat from Clay County, pushed for lawmakers to pass the sports authority bill during the legislative session, saying in an interview that it offers the county “tremendous potential” even if the Royals don’t move to the Northland.
“We recognize how important it is to have that sports authority for tourism, for other opportunities that can come to Clay County,” Nurrenbern said. “So, looking forward to getting that signed into law and then the next steps will be forming that commission.”
A Kehoe spokesperson would not say whether Kehoe planned to sign the legislation, saying only that it would receive “a thorough review by Governor Kehoe and his team.”
“This review is underway now and we will not have any further comments until we have completed the review process,” the spokesperson, Gabby Picard, said in an email.
During an interview on KCMO Talk Radio this week, Kehoe did not mention the sports complex bill. However, he predicted that the teams would provide more information about where they’re headed soon.
“My guess is the franchises will be communicating with the public in the next couple of weeks about what their future and their options look like,” Kehoe said. “I certainly hope that Missourians will support that as it moves forward.”
While the idea of the Royals moving to Clay County has picked up some support from lawmakers in Jefferson City, Kansas City’s mayor and city manager — as well as other top officials — have touted downtown as the best spot for the team.
A spokesperson for Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, one of the biggest proponents of the Royals moving downtown, said in an email that the mayor was “proud to serve as mayor of the largest city in Clay County. Clay County’s success is Kansas City’s.”
“While downtown provides the best location for the future of Major League Baseball in our community, the Mayor will work closely with stakeholders to build professional opportunities and practice facilities drawing tourist dollars and investments to Kansas City’s Northland,” the spokesperson, Megan Strickland, said.
Amid the complicated web of competing offers, incentives plans and speculation, officials across the Kansas City region are left waiting to see where both the Chiefs and Royals decide to locate their stadiums — and what the finer details of those plans would look like.
“Now the team knows what the state can do and is prepared to do,” said Wagner, the Clay County commissioner. “Are we ready to finalize what a deal may look like?”