Kansas sets Chiefs STAR Bonds district across six cities

Kansas published boundaries for the Kansas City Chiefs STAR Bonds district on Oct. 13, identifying an area across six cities where the state says future incremental state sales-tax revenue will be pledged to the stadium project. The release comes amid a lawsuit by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, challenging the stadium law’s effect on local control.

The Kansas Department of Commerce lists Kansas City, Bonner Springs, Edwardsville, Shawnee, Lenexa and Olathe as cities within the district. The city list does not identify which parcels are included. The department says the map sets the area for pledging incremental state sales-tax revenue; it says pledges of local revenue are unaffected.

District limits and project financing

The state identifies the University of Kansas Medical Center complex and the area immediately around it, a predominantly vacant part of Shawnee, and existing STAR Bond districts as exclusions. The published boundaries therefore define where the state says revenue may be captured, but the announcement does not quantify expected revenue or give a bond repayment schedule.

Kansas Commerce describes the project as a $4 billion undertaking: a $3 billion domed stadium and $1 billion in mixed-use development. Separately, the Kansas City Business Journal reported plans for up to $1.8 billion in STAR bonds. That figure is a planned maximum, not an amount already issued or the full public cost. Sunflower State Journal described the stadium and practice-facility project as $3.3 billion; the reports do not reconcile that figure with the state’s $4 billion description.

The state says financing will include STAR bonds and the Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund. It says the Chiefs will lease the stadium, which the state describes as owned by the people of Kansas. Kansas Commerce says the stadium is planned to open in 2031 and that an 11-member Kansas Sports Facilities Authority will oversee construction, financing and management of the facilities.

The department projects more than 4,000 permanent jobs and $1 billion in annual economic impact once the project is operating. Those are forecasts, not results already achieved. Kansas Commerce says the district is intended to maximize economic impact and repay bonds as early as possible, after which revenues could be directed to the state and participating local communities.

County lawsuit challenges state control

The Unified Government filed suit in Wyandotte County District Court on Oct. 9, according to KCTV5. The Kansas City Business Journal reported county leaders’ concern that the state could change STAR Bond district boundaries without Unified Government approval. KCTV5 reported that the lawsuit challenges provisions of the stadium law over local control.

The lawsuit is a separate challenge to the law, not a court decision on the newly published map. No ruling on the map is reported. The state’s boundary announcement also does not quantify how much revenue any one of the six cities might generate or receive.