The KC Royals have indicated that Washington Square Park on Pershing Road between Main Street and Grand Boulevard is a potential site for a new ballpark. See what this "downtown" location looks like right now, at ground level and from a drone's eye view. By Randy Mason| Dominick Williams
Months after Missouri lawmakers passed a sweeping incentives package for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals, voters across the state could have a chance to repeal it.
A St. Louis-based law firm with a strong connection to Missouri politics has laid the groundwork for a campaign that would ask voters to strike down the stadium-financing law intended to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.
A pair of proposed ballot measures, filed by the Ketcher Law Firm, would direct the state to notify lawmakers how much money was saved from clawing back the incentives. The goal is for lawmakers to direct that money towards protecting Medicaid coverage amid a wave of federal cuts.
“A state ought not to be giving…billions of dollars of handouts to billionaire team owners when everyday Missourians are at risk for losing their health care coverage,” said Brad Ketcher, an attorney who previously worked in the Missouri Governor’s Office under former Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan.
Ketcher’s effort, which is still in its early stages, attempts to curtail cuts to social safety net programs enacted under President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill,” which could leave thousands of Americans without health care coverage.
The proposals take direct aim at Missouri’s stadium funding package, which Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law after a chaotic special session over the summer. The law came amid a lengthy fight over the future of the teams between Missouri and Kansas, with both states passing dueling incentives packages.
Whether either of Ketcher’s proposals reaches the November 2026 ballot is far from a certainty. Initiative petitions must survive an expensive and time-consuming signature-gathering process to qualify for the statewide ballot.
But the petitions cleared their first hurdle this week when Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins allowed the campaign to start collecting signatures and crafted ballot language for the proposals.
Hoskins, in his proposed ballot language, claims that Ketcher’s plan would likely result in the Chiefs moving to Kansas. The question, which makes no mention of the Royals, states in part:
“Shall Missouri law be amended to repeal the ‘Show-Me Sports Investment Act,’ which provides state bonds, appropriations, and tax credits for professional sports stadiums and related events, thereby likely causing the Kansas City Chiefs to move their stadium from Missouri to Kansas?”
When asked by The Star why the question mentioned the Chiefs and not the Royals, Hoskins’ spokesperson Rachael Dunn said the language focused on the “clearest, most immediate potential consequence based on information available at the time of review” and was not based on any internal knowledge of either teams’ plans.
Kehoe’s spokesperson conveyed confidence about both teams staying in Missouri, but did not address the proposals when asked about the potential campaign on Friday.
“Governor Kehoe and his team remain in frequent communication with the Royals and the Chiefs to ensure that both teams stay in Missouri — where they belong,” said spokesperson Gabby Picard.
A spokesperson for the Royals declined to weigh in on Friday. A spokesperson for the Chiefs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ketcher said in an interview that his law firm may file additional versions of the proposal before settling on a final draft. They will then decide whether there is enough voter support to move forward with a campaign, he said.
“I do think it’s something that has a great deal of populist appeal,” he said.
Missouri’s incentives package has sharply divided both lawmakers and residents. Supporters have consistently cast the plan as vital to keep the teams, while opponents frame stadium subsidies as corporate welfare for rich team owners.
Neither the Chiefs nor the Royals have publicly committed to either state roughly four months after Kehoe signed the legislation into law, resulting in a behind-the-scenes border war between officials in Missouri and Kansas.
While neither team has announced its future stadium location, momentum could be building for the Royals to move to Clay County.
North Kansas City, in a news release on Thursday, said discussions with the Royals were “substantial.” Jesse Smith, the city’s mayor, said the city was working on a deal framework that would involve the state and the county.