Which Kansas politicians will get to spike the ball if the Chiefs cross state lines?

In a one-day special session, Kansas lawmakers achieved its long-debated goal of passing taxes after failing to overcome a veto three times, as well as its more recent goal of creating an incentive package to attract the Kansas City Chiefs or Royals across state lines.

If a deal is struck, the two teams could save up to 70% of construction costs through subsidies from the sales tax it generates, sports betting taxes and lottery revenues. Stadium subsidies can be a gamble politically, according to Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty.

But with a winning franchise like the Chiefs, politicians are more likely to gain favor than lose it.

“Things like tax cuts are big, very important, but they ebb and flow, there’s tax cuts and then there’s tax increases,” said Beatty. “But something like a stadium or something to that effect that’s next level in terms of legacy.”

But in Kansas, who will get the credit for the Chiefs moving across state lines?

Republicans and legislative leadership

Rep. Sean Tarwater, R-Stilwell, proposed using STAR Bonds to attract the Chiefs to Kansas on the second-to-last day of the legislative session. The bill won support from a conference committee made up of representatives from both chambers but didn’t get brought to the floor for a vote.

At the time, legislative leadership was cautious to pass anything besides a comprehensive tax cut package, and Americans for Prosperity-Kansas, a prominent conservative group, opposed the idea, telling lawmakers that their votes would be considered when evaluating their records.

Before the special session, Senate President Ty Masterson called the original bill a nonstarter. What ultimately passed diverged from the first bill in its funding structure from solely STAR Bonds to a mixture of STAR Bonds, lottery revenues and sports gambling taxes.

Lottery revenues above $71.5 million per year will be diverted to pay off stadium bonds under the bill, which is likely to amount to about $10 million a year. And Kansas’s sports betting law passed in 2022 specified that 80% of tax revenue made off sports betting goes toward attracting a professional sports team.

Republican leadership was far more amenable to the structure of the deal, and touted the bill after passing it.

“Kansas’ unique STAR Bond tool now provides an additional option for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals to remain in the Kansas City region without raising taxes to fund new, state-of-the-art stadium complexes for the teams. This exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity holds unlimited potential for both our state and for Chief and Royals fans everywhere,” Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins said in a joint news release.

Many Democrats supported bill with some caveats

Kansas Democrats make up less than a third of elected seats in both chamber, and don’t set what will be voted on any given day. Their role in state government, as well as that of Gov. Laura Kelly, is more of a check on the Republican Party that can override them with unanimous support.

But Democrats largely supported the effort, although often couching that support in criticism of the expedited process to lure a business while other problems in the state don’t attract the same enthusiasm.

Rep. Jason Probst, D-Hutchinson, said he was amazed the speed the Legislature works to solve problems oriented around wealth and business but not for concerns about the “human condition.” He ultimately supported the bill, but his sentiment was echoed by other Democrats on both sides of the issue.

“I would be much more excited and more prone to vote yes on this sports bill if this Legislature would allow real debate on Medicaid expansion, medical marijuana, funding for the houseless, funding to fully fund special education and funding for senior housing,” said Rep. Susan Ruiz, D-Shawnee, who voted against the bill.

House Democrats and Republicans were about equally prone to support the bill, which passed 84-38. In the Senate, though, fiscally conservative Republicans provided seven of the eight dissenting votes with only Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, as the sole Democratic dissenter.

Kelly has largely stayed out of the fray on the issue, not naming either team in her message when she signed the bill. But the deal will have to go through the Department of Commerce, which is currently run by Lt. Gov. David Toland, potentially giving him a campaign tool.

“The secretary of commerce, the lieutenant governor, will likely be running for the governor’s position,” Rep. Rebecca Schmoe, R-Ottawa, said during Republican’s pre-vote caucus. “We’re handing them a win on this.”

Hand-shakers, back-patters and the public

Scoop and Score lined up nearly 30 lobbyists to advocate for the bill to move the Chiefs across state lines, about twice as many as any other single company had during the legislative session. The Royals also hired eight lobbyists in the effort.

Former House Speaker Ron Ryckman and his former chief of staff Paje Resner are the only dedicated lobbyists for the Chiefs in the Statehouse. The pair also represent Scoop and Score and Polsinelli Law Firm, which sent an attorney to advocate for the STAR Bond project, are corporate sponsors of the Chiefs and have represented the team in court.

Scoop and Score added additional pressure through a public campaign. It provided template emails that Kansans could send with the click of a button to their congressman and senators. A poll the nonprofit commissioned showed strong support from Kansans on attracting the team, and many lawmakers said their constituents were more inclined to reach out to support the move rather than opposing it.

Scoop and Score doesn’t disclose its funders, and its efforts are solely focused on the Chiefs and didn’t poll Kansans’ favorability of attracting the Royals. The two teams said they would explore options separately after their joint proposal to Jackson County, Missouri, voters failed in April.

But the allure of the Chiefs and their advocates outshined Americans for Prosperity and the Kansas Policy Institute, two organizations that are often influential to legislators.