Parson says efforts continue to keep Kansas City Chiefs, Royals in Missouri

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Monday he has met with several Kansas City-area leaders to explore ways to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in the state.

"All the meetings have went really well," Parson said during a bill signing in south Kansas City, Missouri. "We just need to have a plan in place and to move forward, and I think there's a real opportunity to do that."

Earlier Monday, Parson met with Clay County commissioners, North Kansas City Mayor Bryant DeLong and Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas.

He planned to meet with Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. and his staff on Monday afternoon.

Parson said he believes moving forward, plans or proposals by the Chiefs and Royals should be done separately.

"I think you got to split the Chiefs and Royals," Parson said. "They're two different entities and two different business ventures here."

He continued, "I think we got to go back to the drawing board a little bit and talk to the Chiefs — 'OK, what is it that we can do here,' and then the Royals are going to have to figure out what it is what they want to do and what that site selection [is.] Site selection for the Royals is a big issue."

Just weeks earlier, the Kansas Legislature quickly moved to pass a bill to lure the teams across the state line during a special session.

RELATED | Kansas legislature passes bill to lure Chiefs, Royals across state line

The bill, later signed into law by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly , lets the state explore using STAR Bonds to fund stadium projects, including allowing 70% of a project to be funded by STAR Bonds.

Asked about the pressure Kansas has applied in the recent weeks, Parson said he's confident in Missouri's ability to put together a plan in the six months left his tenure as governor.

"I'm not too worried about Kansas at this point. I got six months, how much more time do you need just to be able to put this together?" Parson said jokingly.

He continued, "It's a big business deal. It's a big adventure for what we're trying to do, but the last six months, we're going to try to put something together that everybody can live with and try to compete, and we will."

The future of the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri has been up in the air since April when Jackson County voters rejected Question 1 , a 3/8-cent sales tax for stadium projects.

While the Chiefs wanted to use the funding for renovations and additions at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the Royals wanted to use the funding for a new downtown stadium in KCMO's Crossroads Arts District.

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