Deal reached to end K.C. Chiefs stadium project lawsuit

Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City have resolved a dispute over land use and utility services related to a partly bond-financed stadium for the National Football League’s Chiefs and an entertainment district that led to a lawsuit.

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An agreement announced by Gov. Laura Kelly and Mayor Christal Watson on Friday confirmed the UG’s pledged revenue will only be applied within the stadium, parking, and ancillary development area included in the Chiefs project. 

It also said the UG and Wyandotte County Board of Public Utilities (BPU) will retain jurisdiction on all ancillary development surrounding the stadium, which includes local planning and zoning and paying of a BPU payment in lieu of taxes, according to a joint statement. 

“The stadium and its parking areas will be state facilities owned by the Kansas Sports Facilities Authority, not subject to local zoning or building codes, and leased to the Kansas City Chiefs for $7 million per year,” it added.

The UG sued the state earlier this month challenging the constitutionality of a law that created an 11-member authority to oversee the $3 billion domed stadium project. Under the agreement, the lawsuit will be dismissed without prejudice.

“The collaboration in recent days has literally been a game changer,” Watson said in the statement. “All of the parties remain fully supportive of the Chiefs, the stadium project and the significant economic opportunity it will create for the citizens of Wyandotte County and Kansas.“

Kelly called the agreement an important step for the project, which “will result in an incredible economic benefit for KCK and Wyandotte County residents, the state of Kansas, and the best home for the Chiefs.”

In February, the UG’s board of commissioners agreed to pledge an estimated $350 million to $450 million over 25 years in incremental increases in certain sales and transient guest taxes collected in specific geographic areas to help pay off about $1.8 billion of sales tax and revenue bonds a state authority will issue for the stadium. 

The state on Oct. 13 unveiled boundaries for a STAR bond district where incremental increases in state sales tax revenue will help fund the stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, portions of a mixed-use development, and a headquarters and training facility for the team in Olathe.