Chiefs and Royals say they will stay in Kansas City if voters approve sales tax to fund Arrowhead renovation and a Kauffman Stadium replacement

Kansas City’s NFL and MLB clubs hope to stay on the banks of the Missouri River, as long as local taxpayers are willing.

The Chiefs and Royals announced Friday that both Kansas City franchises would remain in Jackson County, where Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums are located, if voters there approve the extension of an existing sales tax that has long paid for their upkeep.

The stadiums, which opened in the early 1970s, are located in the Truman Sports Complex and have been connected through lease agreements with the county for the past fifty years. But with the current lease expiring in 2030-31, both teams are making plans for the future of their facilities, and the Royals have indicated they want a new stadium downtown.

The baseball club would use the expanded sales tax to fund the proposed park, while the Chiefs would use it to renovate Arrowhead Stadium.

The Royals have considered bids from Jackson County, where a new stadium would be located close to the existing T-Mobile Center and the Power & Light entertainment district, and a competing bid from Clay County, which is just across the Missouri River.

Bobby Witt Jr. (left) and the Royals play at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, but want a new park

A view of the Kansas City Royals’ proposed stadium, which would likely be downtown

“The Chiefs and Royals have been working with Jackson County for 50 years, a partnership that has worked well for all constituents,” the teams said. “As part of the proposed agreement between the teams and Jackson County, the teams have agreed to provide Jackson County with more than $200 million in new economic benefits over 40 years in a new lease agreement.”

The agreement would ease the county’s obligation to pay stadium insurance premiums and return the park tax to the county. Meanwhile, the Royals would privately finance a new $1 billion baseball district around their new facility.

The Jackson County Legislature meets Monday and the Chiefs and Royals will try to get the tax on the April ballot. If approved, it would clear the way for both teams to make plans for construction and renovation.

“The partnership between Jackson County, the Chiefs and Royals has been a tremendous success over the past fifty years and is directly responsible for much of the great momentum our hometown has built,” the teams said.

“The framework outlined here is a significant financial benefit to Jackson County, built collaboratively around the concerns expressed by the county executive and other local leaders, and provides further momentum for Kansas City and the region for decades to come.”

The Royals unveiled some renderings of their proposed stadium in August, showing two dramatically different locations to replace the aging Kauffman Stadium.

The first location, called East Village, would consist of a baseball field that would anchor a 27-acre project just blocks from the booming Power & Light District, where the T-Mobile Center already exists. The second site is a 200-acre tract across the Missouri River in Clay County, where the Royals would have greater opportunities to develop commercial and residential real estate.

A general view of the sky lighting up as the Kansas City Royals prepare for a game in July

Both plans were produced by Populous, the Kansas City-based sports architecture giant, which has been responsible for the renovation or construction of more than two dozen stadiums currently in use across the MLB.

The Royals announced plans to leave Kauffman Stadium about two years ago. But progress in determining the path forward has been slow, given the myriad factors involved in the proposed $2 billion-plus ballpark and entertainment district.

Regardless of location, Royals president of operations Brooks Sherman said in August that the team is prepared to spend about $1 billion in private funds on the project, and that they plan to move into their new stadium to move.

“That’s part of the equation is making sure that we have good negotiation and good consultation with each set of governing bodies — the elected leaders — and we do that with both Clay County and Jackson County,” Sherman said.

Arrowhead Stadium has been the home of the Chiefs in Kansas City since the early 1970s

The downtown location, long considered a front-runner, would leverage commercial and business opportunities to help increase the revenue that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred says is necessary for a small club to compete.

The proposed stadium, which Populous founder Earl Santee cautioned is not a final design, features sloping rooflines reminiscent of Kauffman Stadium. There’s a tribute to the fountains the existing park is known for in right-center field and what Santee called “one of the most intimate seating areas in all of baseball.”

However, the stadium also has disadvantages. Getting in and out is already a challenge downtown, and parking can be difficult, especially during daytime games when existing parking spaces are already occupied by people working in the area.

The North Kansas City location would continue the revitalization of what was once a run-down industrial neighborhood.