Frank White prepared to back Chiefs stadium tax — but under these conditions

Yahoo

15-07-2025

Frank White sent Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe a letter signaling his preparedness to support a sales tax earmarked for a renovated Arrowhead Stadium.
But it comes with significant caveats.
White, the Jackson County executive, wrote to Kehoe last week that he would back a 3/8th-cent sales tax extension in the county — but with only one-third of it reserved for an Arrowhead Stadium makeover.
In a letter obtained by The Star through an open records request, White lays out a plan to reserve one-third of the tax to upgrade the downtown Jackson County courthouse and the juvenile rehabilitation facility; one-third for capital improvements at University Health, county-owned hospitals in Kansas City; and one-third for upgrades and maintenance for Arrowhead stadium.
'This approach represents exactly the kind of balanced, responsible investment the moment calls for,' White wrote in the letter.
A Kehoe spokesperson did not indicate whether the Republican governor supported White's plan in an email to The Star, but she emphasized that local support was necessary for the teams.
'Governor Kehoe appreciates the willingness of Jackson County Executive Frank White to explore options for local investment to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri,' said spokesperson Gabby Picard, who also pointed to issues with Jackson County tax assessments, adding Kehoe 'also believes Jackson County residents deserve certainty for fair and reasonable property tax assessments, which is a critical piece to any Jackson County solution.'
The Chiefs declined comment on the letter.
But a three-way split is likely a non-starter in any negotiations with the Chiefs, who possess something today they didn't two years ago when their talks with White commenced:
Options.
The Chiefs are not only pursuing a renovated stadium at the Truman Sports Complex, but they continue to explore the possibility of building a new stadium across the state line. Both Missouri and Kansas have passed competing stadium-incentives packages, and the Chiefs recently successfully persuaded Kansas to extend the deadline for its funding package.
The Missouri bill passed last month not only encourages but requires a local source of funding — which is the significance of the letter.
While it's long been known the stadium tax measures White does not support, his writing to Kehoe offers the first behind-the-curtain peek of the brand of ballot measure he would promote.
'Governor, I'm aware that some have tried to suggest that I'm opposed to any level of public funding for these teams. That's just not true,' White wrote. 'What I am opposed to is continuing the status quo for another generation.'
White's office confirmed the letter but declined further comment. White is facing a recall election, possibly as soon as next month.
The Royals are not a party to his proposal to Kehoe. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and his office has been a more active party in the talks with the Royals on proposed sites in Jackson County, most recently Washington Square Park, which is located north of Crown Center and east of Union Station.
White says the county is 'ready to support the city's efforts and is willing to step back in should the team present a proposal for us to consider or express interest in reengaging. To date, the Royals have not done so.'
If the Royals elects to pursue their original vision of downtown baseball — over options in Kansas or Clay County — that stadium is unlikely to be county-owned. At least one top Missouri lawmaker has suggested that the Royals moving to Clay County would take off 'half the pressure on Jackson County.'
Chiefs team president Mark Donovan has consistently said that if the NFL team stays at Arrowhead Stadium, its local funding source would come through the county — which owns the stadiums at the Truman Sports Complex, where the teams are tied through a lease that expires in 2031.
For two years, though, White and the Chiefs (and Royals, for that matter) have failed to reach an agreement on what taxpayer support beyond 2031 would entail. White vetoed a combined Chiefs and Royals measure to put a sales tax extension on the ballot before the county legislature overrode him and put the item in front of voters. They rejected it, 58-42%.
The Chiefs are unlikely to return to the voters with anything other than a tax reserved for one thing and one thing only. They are adamant about dislodging any confusion from a future ballot question.
A three-way chop would also, quite obviously, secure the team less money.
For White, that's the idea.
For the Chiefs, that would almost certainly be a sticking point, even after they have secured a path toward a significant contribution from the state.
The Chiefs and Royals have long split the 3/8th-cent sales tax evenly, but they have separated their stadium plans moving forward — and any future ask of the voters would therefore be separate, too. That's purposeful in the aftermath of last year's rejection at the ballot box.
In response to a question from The Star, Donovan said last week the Chiefs would likely target an April 2026 vote if they stay in the county. They estimate a renovated Arrowhead Stadium would cost north of $1 billion.
But it's not yet clear what kind of tax they will seek absent sharing it with the Royals.
White's request is that other county parties get a cut — 'generational investments in public health and public safety,' he called the proposed tax support for the courthouse, juvenile facility and hospitals.
White and the Chiefs reengaged in talks after last year's vote failed, but they have not discussed the matter recently. Instead, Donovan said last week he talked to the county legislature, a signal of the team's potential plans to once again try to gather enough support from the nine-member committee to put the item on the ballot, rather than an avenue through White.
In his letter to Kehoe, White sought an amendment to the Missouri sales tax statue to allow for the three-way split for the 3/8th-cent sales tax extension. The state's General Assembly would have to pass that amendment before a vote.
The Star's Kacen Bayless contributed to this report.