KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – Wyandotte County Commissioners voted 7-3 to approve a STAR Bonds district that would house the Kansas City Chiefs’ new stadium.
The vote, which was held on Thursday, Feb. 5, clears the way for the county to collect sales and use taxes to fund a 65,000-seat domed stadium and entertainment district.
Commissioners Chuck Stites, Phil Lopez and Andrew Davis voted against the measure.
The proposed STAR bond district for a Chiefs stadium in Wyandotte County at 126th and State Avenue.(KCTV5)
The stadium would be built at the northeast corner of 126th and State Ave., just north of the Azura Amphitheater.
The vote came two days after a public hearing on the proposal.
“We extend our appreciation to Mayor Christal Watson and the Wyandotte County Board of Commissioners for their support of the STAR bond initiative for the new Kansas City Chiefs stadium in Wyandotte County,” Chiefs leadership said following the vote. “We’re grateful for the process and remain very excited for the collaboration with Wyandotte County to build on this partnership.”
Under the ordinance, STAR Bonds – Sales Tax and Revenue bonds – must pay for all stadium infrastructure.
District 6 Commissioner Philip Lopez says his no vote came down to not having all the information.
“It’s been pretty rough, especially with the whole NDA thing,” said Lopez. “There’s too much gray, way too much gray. Especially with the documentation I received. It was not the same as other documentation.”
Community members pack a Wyandotte County Commission meeting to hear the Commissioners’ votes on the approval or denial of a STAR Bonds project.(KCTV5/Chandler Watkins)
He and other commissioners, like District 5’s Dr. Carlos Pacheco III, say there have been many sleepless nights leading to their decisions, with hundreds of residents reaching out to them ahead of the vote.
“From my kind of napkin math, it was probably somewhere around 70-30% in favor,” said Pacheco. “I think there is some veracity to that.”
He says his yes vote was a strategic one.
“I think it gives us some leverage in further deals with the Chiefs and the state, and that’s really my position on it,” said Pacheco. “What was in front of us tonight was making a decision of whether or not we were going to play ball, for lack of a better term. I think in doing so that creates a little more goodwill with the state and with the team to start, our counsel said not to use the word control, but really it does give us a little bit more control over the situation, so that way we have a better idea of what actually affects us and what we can control.”
Also discussed during a presentation during the commission meeting was the state contributing millions of dollars towards local infrastructure repairs, like Central Avenue and Kansas Avenue bridges, due to the STAR Bonds Project.
The commission made some clarifying modifications to the language in the ordinance following Tuesday’s public hearing.(KCTV5/Chandler Watkins)
“It just shows some very good faith on their part, knowing the stadium is going to be here,” said Watson. “We want this to be the best experience for our visitors and our residents when they are traveling to any game or event that is going to be in the Legends area.”
KCK Mayor Christal Watson worked to make that deal happen, saying the project was important in their partnership with the state in making improvements throughout the county. The county’s legal counsel did note in the meeting that the deal may have been in jeopardy if the commission did not approve the STAR Bonds Project.
“There are other opportunities that are ahead that we want to be able to fulfill and take advantage of, and I don’t know if we would have been able to do that,” said Watson.
Watson said she would have voted yes if she needed to break a tie, adding the decision was not easy or as cut and dry as it may have seemed. In remarks to residents at the end of the meeting, she said she believes this decision is in the best interest of the community.
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