Bill in Congress could impact downtown KC Royals stadium

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A bill introduced in Congress could throw a curveball at future sports stadium projects.

Proposed by U.S. Reps. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Don Beyer (D-Va.), the No Tax Subsidies for Stadiums Act of 2022 would kill the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds that are used to finance public sports stadiums.

If passed, it could impact the Kansas City Royals and their discussions of moving from the Truman Sports Complex to a downtown stadium. 

It all has Kansas City-area residents talking about who should pay for a new stadium if the Royals moved.

“As long as the money is being put back and being invested into the city, then I’m OK to pay a little more on that tax dollar if I know I’m going to get a good product, and it’s just going back into our ball club, and you know that’s important to me,” Belton resident Dylan Schwarz said Friday.

Schwarz supports the use of public tax dollars going to a new stadium. 

“All I know is when the Royals are doing good, there’s something about this town,” he continued. “When there’s some excitement, there’s a little more waving going around and smiling, so I’m all for it.” 

But people are already paying for upgrades to the current stadium when they shop in Jackson County right now.

Jackson County voters passed a 3/8-cent of a dollar sales tax back in 2006 to fund improvements at both Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums. That tax goes until January 2031 when the leases end for the Chiefs and the Royals, according to Jim Rowland, executive director of the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority.

“St. Louis is still paying on a stadium that isn’t even being used,” Independence resident Kayla Tomosieski said Friday. “Why would we want increase yet again the taxes? We have huge taxes in Jackson County. Cass County’s cheaper. Clay County’s cheaper. Why would we want to increase that? Honestly?”

Tomosieski is against the use of public tax dollars going to a new stadium.

“I would love to see it go to roads or schools for that matter, not another stadium, when we have a stadium, a good stadium,” she continued. 

If the bill does pass, the Royals ownership group wouldn’t be able to use tax subsidies to build a new ballpark and could end up footing the bill on their own.