Arrowhead Was Built By Taxpayers
For more than 50 years, the Kansas City Chiefs called Arrowhead Stadium home. That didn’t happen by accident.
Jackson County taxpayers paid to build and maintain that stadium through bonds and taxes, year after year. Generations of Missourians invested in Arrowhead long before the Chiefs became the team we know today. Fans stayed loyal through decades of ups and downs. We filled the stands during the rough years, packed the parking lots, and built the best tailgating experience in the NFL.
We supported the team with our time, our money, and our hearts.
A Painful Business Decision
Let’s be clear: as much as we love the Chiefs, the NFL and the KC Chiefs are businesses. Businesses exist to make money, and they pursue deals that best serve their bottom line. As a former small business owner, I understand that reality, and I don’t blame the Chiefs for acting in what they believe is their best interest.
But understanding the business decision doesn’t erase the frustration felt by me and thousands of other Missouri taxpayers. Many lifelong fans feel a deep sense of loss and betrayal—even if the team is moving just a few miles across the state line.
Property Taxes Pushed Jackson County Taxpayers to a Breaking Point
Losing the Chiefs didn’t happen overnight. And it didn’t happen in a vacuum.
It’s the result of years of warning signs being ignored, taxpayers being squeezed, and elected officials choosing political games over real relief for the people who actually foot the bill.
For years now, Jackson County residents have been very clear: enough is enough.
Homeowners are still reeling from a property tax crisis that sent assessments skyrocketing, often with little explanation and even less accountability. Families who did nothing wrong suddenly found themselves paying hundreds or thousands more just to stay in their homes.
And as if home owners in crisis wasn't enough, this year our commercial businesses got hit with the same outrageous increases!
So when the idea of new taxes or extensions came up — even tied to beloved teams — taxpayers pushed back. Not because they don’t value the Chiefs or the Royals, but because they are already stretched way too thin. Families were already struggling to pay their mortgages, afford groceries, and stay in their homes when—just months after those tax hikes—the Chiefs and Royals placed a 3/8-cent sales tax renewal on the ballot.
That pushback wasn’t anti-Chiefs or anti-sports. It was about survival.
People who were being taxed out of their homes were not going to approve any additional tax, even a renewal. The vote failed because taxpayers drew a firm and justified line.
Silence Spoke Volumes
Governor Kehoe called the Missouri General Assembly back into a special session for the primary purpose of passing a bill that would fund renovations to Arrowhead and help pay for a new baseball stadium for the Royals, as well.
I was not part of any negotiations with the Chiefs. No one from their organization ever contacted me, visited my office, or came to the Capitol to lobby for the stadium legislation that passed. I stated that plainly on the Senate floor during debate.
That silence was telling. It strongly suggested to me that the Chiefs were never committed to staying in Missouri.
That impression was confirmed when I attended a meeting recently at Arrowhead Stadium. When the Chiefs’ president was asked directly about relocation plans, his response made it clear to me that the organization was more concerned about a billion-dollar, state-of-the-art stadium rather than remaining loyal to the people of Jackson County and renovating the place that helped put them on the football map - Arrowhead.
Leadership Failed
Losing the Chiefs is the predictable result of failed leadership at the city and county level, runaway taxation, and a state legislature that allowed politics to block real relief for the people who are paying the bills.
During special session’s stadium debate, I was clear with the governor: I would not vote for a stadium bill unless we delivered real property tax relief for Jackson County homeowners.
That relief never came.
Democrat senators representing Jackson County chose to filibuster and block that relief, leaving Jackson County homeowners suffering.
Once again, politics won — and taxpayers lost.
The state offered the Chiefs a deal that would allow the team to keep all the tax revenue they generate and use it to fund up to 50% of stadium renovation costs, with additional local investment required. But local government failures and a broken tax system made it impossible to build the trust needed to move forward.
This is Bigger Than Football
The potential loss of the Chiefs isn’t just about sports pride. It’s about jobs, tourism, economic growth, and the signal we send to families and employers deciding whether Missouri is a place worth investing in.
When government fails at the basics — fair taxes, honest assessments, and fiscal responsibility — everything else becomes harder to sustain.
The Fight Isn't Over
My priority in this upcoming session is property tax reform and I've filed SB 919 as a vehicle for that change. Click on the links below to see the official bill page where you can read a summary as well as the full text, or read more practical information in The Senator's Digest article.
SB 919 does the following:
1. 5% cap* on property tax liability increases. *Or CPI, whichever is less.
2. Ensures transparency in property reclassifications
3. 15% cap on residential assessment increases
4. Mandates the State Tax Commission lower the valuation threshold from 90-110% to 75-100%.
Missourians deserve a government that works for them — not one that prices them out of their homes, ignores their concerns, and then asks for more.
If Missouri wants to keep its teams, its jobs, and its people, we must start by respecting the taxpayers who make all of it possible.
Because when taxpayers are ignored long enough, they don’t just vote “no.” They leave. And that's a bigger loss than any stadium.
