KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Uncertainty is growing with the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals stadiums' sales tax on the upcoming election.
On Monday, Chiefs president Mark Donovan warned that the Chiefs could leave Arrowhead Stadium and Kansas City, Missouri, behind if a majority of Jackson Country residents vote no on Question 1 of the April 2 ballot.
"If somebody comes back and says they don't agree with that, and then enough people vote no, then we're in a situation where we've got to look at that and say well that's the deal we offered and that wasn't good enough," Donovan said. "Well, what is? And what are our other options?"
"At that point you got to look at your other options."
Donovan then hinted the Chiefs could relocate if they don't get the outcome they desire.
"So the other options would have to include other options outside of Kansas City, Missouri."
Jackson County legislators met on Monday to discuss funding for the election. County Executive Frank White was there and said what he calls “threats” of teams leaving are pretty common in stadium negotiations, adding there are seven years left on both teams' leases to get a deal done.
The Buffalo Bills, Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox are a few examples in recent history of pro sports organizations threatening to move cities if they don't get taxpayers' money to make it happen.
But other teams -- like the former San Diego Chargers and the Oakland A's -- have recently packed up and moved (or are planning to move) after voters or city leaders rejected their stadium bids.
Since the Royals have released their plans to move downtown, the club's leadership hasn't publicly said they will leave the city altogether if the vote doesn't go their way.
However, earlier this month the official Royals X account reposted a thread from the YesOn1JacksonCo account titled, "Is Frank White really doing everything he can to keep the Chiefs and the Royals in Jackson County?"
Within the thread are "fact checks" to combat some of what White has said in the past that coincide with what he said Monday. One post points out that, "The last 2 lease renewals were signed 7 and 9 years before the leases were set to end."
That was followed by another post saying, "Some people get it. Jim Rowland of the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority is one of those people: 'Well, we’re in a pretty dicey position. While the teams have leases that require them to be in Jackson County…I think both teams will be questionable as if they remain in Kansas City & Jackson County.'”
