An overflow crowd filled the Unified Government commission chambers Tuesday evening as residents voiced passionate opinions about the proposed Kansas City Chiefs stadium development, with commissioners facing a Thursday vote on whether to commit local tax revenues to the $3 billion project.

The public hearing, which drew dozens of speakers over two hours, revealed deep divisions and underlying skepticism in the community about the STAR bond financing plan.

Though primarily funded by future state revenues, the UG must decide quickly whether to dedicate its own future sales and hotel tax revenues toward repayment of the bonds. The hearing room was packed but mostly attentive to testimony, with only a few outbursts from the audience during the proceedings.

Proposed ordinance commits local sales tax to bond repayment

Todd LaSala of Stinson LLP, the UG’s outside development counsel, outlined the proposed ordinance in a presentation before public comments began. The plan would create a STAR bond district bounded by State Avenue, Parallel Parkway, 118th Street, and 126th Street, where the Chiefs would build a 65-thousand-seat domed stadium with a projected $3 billion budget, along with a $325 million entertainment district.

Under the ordinance, Wyandotte County would pledge the city’s one percent sales and use tax, the county’s 0.93 percent share of its one percent sales tax, and up to 8 percent of the transient guest tax generated within the district until the bonds are repaid or up to 30 years. Emergency medical services and public safety sales taxes would not be included in the pledge.

LaSala emphasized that the county would not be issuing or guaranteeing the STAR bonds, which would instead be issued by the Kansas Development Finance Authority. The pledge would be based on a “base year of zero,” meaning only new tax revenues generated by the development, not existing revenues, would go toward bond repayment.

The ordinance includes several conditions: the STAR bond district boundaries cannot be changed without county approval, the county must approve definitive development documents, and Wyandotte County would have a representative appointed by the mayor to a five-member community benefits committee. The bonds must be issued by Dec. 31, 2027.

With a state-imposed deadline of Feb. 20 to decide on the pledge, commissioners are scheduled to vote Thursday.

Call for better terms

Community developer and former congressional candidate Matt Kleinmann delivered one of the more nuanced comments of the evening. Kleinmann has spent a decade working in Wyandotte County and serves as director of community development for Vibrant Health, a nonprofit focused on healthcare access in the county.

While expressing support for the stadium as a potential opportunity, he urged commissioners to use their leverage to negotiate stronger protections.

“I believe a stadium can be an opportunity, so I’m supportive of it, but I’m also skeptical, and I do think good governance requires you to do both,” said the former KU basketball player.

He thanked officials for shrinking the STAR bond district to just the project area, saying it “meaningfully reduces our risks,” but outlined five specific asks:

First, protect existing revenue and property taxpayers by ensuring a zero base only on truly greenfield land, with a hard cap on costs. Second, keep the district boundaries tight and durable so future expansions require commission votes tied to real performance outcomes. Third, structure the deal so it’s paid for by visiting fans rather than local families to avoid squeezing county services. Fourth, ensure accountability with independent oversight, annual reviews, and real consequences for underperformance. Finally, make community benefits intentional with clear, enforceable commitments to the east side of the county.

“Bringing the Chiefs here can be a generational investment, but only if you negotiate it in a way that lowers our long-term costs, protects our residents and delivers real benefits where we need them most,” Kleinmann said.

Determined opposition

Most speakers voiced opposition, often in strong terms, citing concerns about giving tax incentives to a billionaire when the county faces pressing needs.

Former KCK mayor Carol Marinovich posed pointed questions: Who will be responsible for stadium demolition if the Chiefs leave after 30 years? What is the financial impact to the Piper school district? Who will pay for public safety and public works in the area? Why isn’t Wyandotte County a specific recipient in the community impact agreement?

“This is our opportunity for leverage and we need to use it,” Marinovich said.

Strawberry Hill resident Paula Flattery-Aaron noted that KCK public schools identified several hundred homeless children in the 2023-24 school year and questioned giving any money to a billionaire when children lack places to sleep.

“We need every dime from every revenue source without adding any additional burdens on our Wyandotte County residents,” she said.

Resident Scott Harding criticized the lack of transparency and referenced past failed projects. “You guys have been giving sales tax away for 50 years,” he said. “We need all these sales to go into the infrastructure of our city government, our county, our employees, our fire and EMTs and our policemen.”

Christopher Oberfeld, who said he makes $30 thousand a year as a laborer, delivered an impassioned plea against the deal. “Clark Hunt is worth $1.6 billion. You are squeezing blood from a stone. You are taking food from the mouths of our children and giving it to Clark Hunt,” he said.

Fred Postlewait cited a litany of past projects he characterized as failures, including Schlitterbahn, Cerner offices, the American Royal, and the Woodlands greyhound track. “This county has gone for project after project after project,” he said. “It is not one penny that goes into our budget to even begin to pay a salary for one policeman or fireman.”

Tracey Johnson, a district court trustee who lives one block from the proposed site, expressed concerns about the impact on the five hundred single-family homes near the stadium area. “You’re going to drive our property values up, I guess, except for the people that are living there on fixed income,” she said, noting residents can barely afford property taxes and insurance now.

Multiple speakers emphasized that the east side has historically been neglected in development deals.

Nikki Richardson, a founder of Justice for Wyandotte put it this way. “The East Side deserves attention. It deserves revenue, it deserves opportunity. We have a ton of great, strong neighborhood groups and organizations that really could use some strong support so that they can revitalize that neighborhood, and I want to stand here with them.”

“If the northeast looks the same 20 years from now,” said Richardson, “We have not done our job.”

Support from labor, development advocates

Former commissioner Mike Kane, president of Tri-County Labor of Eastern Kansas, which represents over ten thousand workers, provided a strong voice in support.

“This is a lifetime opportunity to keep the Chiefs and thousands of families supporting union careers right here in Kansas instead of losing them to somewhere else,” Kane said. He noted the project would create 22 thousand jobs and establish four thousand permanent careers, with $500 million annually flowing through Wyandotte County.

Rachel Russell also spoke in support, describing the stadium as an economic catalyst that would bring regional visibility, tourism, and jobs while generating revenue for infrastructure and community amenities. She acknowledged concerns about public investment but argued that strategic development creates opportunities to expand the tax base.

“We must also be careful not to fall into patterns that unintentionally position our community as resistant to responsible development,” Russell said.

Mark Curry, a lifelong KCK resident and sixty-year Chiefs fan, asked commissioners to look for opportunity outside the bounds of the current proposal. “If we do nothing, where will we be?” he said, suggesting the county request a city earnings tax from the state to offset the sales tax commitment.

Rev. Tony Carter, pastor emeritus of Salem Baptist Church, offered a moral framework for the decision, invoking Matthew 25:45 about responsibility to “the least of these.”

“This is not gonna impact me at my age, but I have 12 grand babies from seven to 25, and they will be impacted by what happens,” Carter said. “This is a watershed moment for us to do collectively together what is right for everybody that’s involved in this. It’s going to be hard. It will not be easy, but I believe if we work together, we can get this done.”

Commissioners respond

After public testimony concluded, commissioners spoke in turn thanking residents for their input and emphasizing they were taking detailed notes and would read the written comments before Thursday’s vote.

Many also expressed frustration with being excluded from early negotiations between the team and the state, but pledged to fight for the community’s interests.

“The days of the UG getting ran over, those days are over,” Commissioner Phil Lopez said,

In an interview after the hearing, Dr. Carlos Pacheco, commissioner for District 5 on the edge of the proposed stadium location, said he saw an engaged community with concerns on both sides.

“In Wyandotte County, we’ve been put in a position in which we weren’t really a part of a lot of the discussions leading up to this until about a month or so ago,” Pacheco said. “We’re scrambling just as much as a lot of other people to get all the information that we can.”

Pacheco emphasized that the STAR bond vote is “one part of the process” with much more to come. He said ensuring Wyandotte County has representation on decision-making bodies and securing community benefits through development agreements would be crucial.

“I think the trade-off is doing things the right way for Wyandotte County,” he said.

Commissioner Andrew Davis stressed that Thursday’s vote, regardless of outcome, would not be the final word on the project.

“This is not a done deal, regardless of what happens on Thursday or regardless of what happens with the STAR bond pledge,” Davis said. “We don’t have a development agreement in place. We have no land use entitlements. We don’t have infrastructure costs. We don’t even have a plat, right? There’s still conversation on site control.”

“This was a state-imposed timeline. We are reacting to it and trying to act in good faith and trying to hear both sides and all sides of the story,” he said.

Davis acknowledged the county’s leverage, given that the Chiefs’ plan emerged after a failed vote in Missouri, but said the county wants to be responsible. “We don’t want to give away the whole farm and say, ‘Take whatever you want,'” he said.

He also expressed interest in finding ways to ensure the entertainment district complements rather than cannibalizes the existing Legends development, emphasizing the need for a net benefit to the county.

“If we can get the right deal, we can replicate that success,” Davis said.

UG commission to vote on Thursday

The UG Commission is scheduled to vote on the ordinance in their regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday. That meeting will include a follow-up presentation by LaSala to answer questions arising from Tuesday’s meeting, especially on how costs related to infrastructure and maintenance will be addressed. However, no public comments will be received at the Thursday meeting.