Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signs into law a bill that creates the Kansas Sports Facilities Authority Act.
The bill enables the construction of a sports facility and related infrastructure for a National Football League franchise team to play its home games and extends the Sales Tax and Revenue or STAR Bonds program. In December, Governor Kelly and the Kansas City Chiefs announced that an agreement has been reached to build a domed stadium and a mixed-use entertainment district, as well as a new team headquarters, training facility, and mixed-use development in Kansas.
The Kansas Sports Facilities Authority Act establishes the Kansas Sports Facilities Authority to govern the stadium and practice facility. The authority will consist of 11 voting members who are Kansas residents with relevant education, training, and experience. Those members would include the Kansas Secretary of Commerce. The governor, the president of the State Senate, speaker of the State House, the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate, and the team would each get to appoint one member to the group. The mayors of the two cities where the team’s facilities are located would also be entitled to appoint a voting member to the authority, which could be themselves, as long as the city participates in a STAR Bond project.
The agreement is a public-private partnership that includes a $3 billion stadium in Wyandotte County, which will open at the start of the 2031 NFL season, and a new Chiefs headquarters and training facility in the City of Olathe in Johnson County.
