Chiefs attempt to calm relocation rumors during Missouri sports betting hearing – Saturday Down South

The Kansas City Chiefs still have nine years remaining on their lease at Arrowhead Stadium and are currently looking at options to renovate the nearly 53-year-old facility, a team representative said during a Missouri Senate sports betting hearing, attempting to calm rumors that the franchise is open to moving to neighboring Kansas.

Missouri senators questioned Anne Scharf, Vice President, Hunt Family Foundation and Civic Affairs at Kansas City Chiefs, of the franchises potential to relocate during a Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee sports betting hearing this morning. Scharf, on behalf of the Chiefs, attended the hearing to throw the franchises support behind HB 2502, a bill to legalize retail and online sports betting for state casinos and Missouri professional sports franchises.

Representatives from the NHLs St. Louis Blues, MLBs Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals, the MLS St. Louis Soccer Club and Womens Soccer League Kansas City Current all spoke up in favor of legalized sports betting at the Senate hearing.

HB 2502,(sponsored by Rep. Dan Houx) will allow for 39 separate sportsbooks skins distributed amongst the states 13 casinos and six professional sports organizations. The bill will officially set the sports betting tax rate at 8%, which will be one of the lowest in the country. It was approved by the Missouri House of Representatives in late March by a vote of 115-33.

The bill is being worked through a Senate committee before potentially receiving a vote on the Senate floor. If approved by the Senate, it would have to be signed into law by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R).

As expected, several senators questioned Scharf on the Chiefs commitment to remaining in Missouri. At the recent NFL meetings two weeks ago, team President Mark Donovan commented that the Chiefs are exploring all options for the teams future, including building a new stadium next to Arrowhead or moving the franchise out of state.

When asked why the Missouri Senate should invest time to ensure the Chiefs receive a sports betting license and an online sports betting skin if theyre looking to leave the state, Scharf noted that nothing shared at the NFL meetings had not been shared repeatedly with local news outlets over the last year.

Sen. Barbara Washington, (D-9), told Scharf the Senate hoped the Chiefs would show a commitment to Jackson County, Missouri, moving forward.

Scharf said the franchise is spending a considerable amount of money on an extensive survey to potentially renovate Arrowhead, Scharf said. If the Chiefs were to receive a sports betting license it would be contingent on remaining in Missouri, she noted.

The Chiefs, she said, have a lease agreement for Arrowhead Stadium that runs through 2033.

While this is true, its worth noting that Kansas will likely soon legalize online and retail sports betting as well, so the Chiefs could likely offers sports betting in that state as well. Kansas also has a provision in its sports betting bill earmarking 80% of sports betting tax revenue to attracting professional sports franchises to relocate to the state. While these funds could potentially go towards the construction of a new stadium, it would likely only amount to a few million dollars when billions would be necessary for a new facility.

The Senate Appropriations Committee did not take any official action on the bill, no votes were taken, and a schedule for any potential votes has not been laid out yet.

If the bill is approved and signed into law, itwill allow each casino to offer a maximum of three skins, but will cap the number of skins per casino company at six if they own two or more facilities. The remaining skins will be allocated to Missouri professional sports franchises.

The breakdown for skins will be as such:

An online sports betting license will require an initial application fee of $150,000, and then a renewal fee of $125,000 one year after. A retail sports betting license will require an initial application fee of $100,000.

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Chiefs attempt to calm relocation rumors during Missouri sports betting hearing - Saturday Down South