Lawmakers look to STAR Bonds extension in fight to bring Chiefs to Kansas

TOPEKA (KSNT) – A top Kansas Republican lawmaker is calling for a special meeting next month amid an ongoing border struggle to bring the Kansas City Chiefs to the Sunflower State.

Kansas Republican Senate President Ty Masterson said in a press release on June 26 that he is calling for a meeting of the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC)

to discuss several items, including an extension on the deadline for Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bond legislation adopted in last year’s legislative session. He said the meeting is currently slated for 2 p.m. on Monday, July 7.

Masterson, chair of the LCC, said he is organizing the meeting after he received a letter from President of the Kansas City Chiefs Mark Donovan. Donovan reportedly requested the deadline be extended following progress on bringing the football team to Kansas.

“The letter from Mark Donovan indicates that the drive to bring this historic project to Kansas is moving down the field,” Masterson said. “Now that we are in the red zone, this extension will provide stakeholders sufficient time to ensure the ball crosses the goal line.”

Donovan’s letter was sent to Masterson and many other major lawmakers within the Kansas Legislature on June 26. Donovan expressed his gratitude to Kansas lawmakers in passing the bipartisan STAR Bond legislation in 2024 which authorizes the head of the Kansas Department of Commerce (KDC) to enter into an agreement with a professional sports franchise to establish a new STAR Bond district with approval from the LCC.

“We remain fully committed to this opportunity and have invested substantial time and resources into moving the project further,” Donovan said. “We have engaged in multiple rounds of detailed proposals and revisions with the administration. We have had no response to our last proposal from the administration for six weeks, though we recognize the many demands of State leadership and remain optimistic about where advanced discussion could lead. Extending the Secretary’s authority will allow that process to continue productively and will preserve Kansas’s ability to secure the most significant economic development initiative in its history.”

Legislation passed in Kansas last year for STAR Bonds allows the state’s leadership to extend approval of an incentive package retroactively. You can learn more about STAR Bonds by clicking here.

For more Capitol Bureau news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf