Kansas City Mayor Lucas says stadium sales tax has been rejected; Chiefs react at watch party

58% of voters said “no” to the stadium sales tax extension and proposal.

The people of Jackson County have spoken: with a 58%-42% result, voters have rejected the stadium sales tax plan pitched in a joint effort by the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals.

“The people of Kansas City and Jackson County love the Chiefs and the Royals. Today, they rejected plans and processes they found inadequate,” wrote Mayor Quinton Lucas, via his official X account. ”Over the months ahead, I look forward to working with the Chiefs and Royals to build a stronger, more open, and collaborative process that will ensure the teams, their events and investments remain in Kansas City for generations to come.”

In late February, the Chiefs revealed plans for a “reimagined Arrowhead Stadium.” At the time, the Hunt family committed to providing $300 million of the $800 million estimated for the project. The Royals had plans for a brand new downtown stadium in the Crossroads area, for which approximately $1 billion would come from private sources.

Chiefs president Mark Donovan spoke late Tuesday night at a vote watch party event.

“First and foremost, we’ve been talking a lot about the democratic process and respect the process,” said Donovan. “We respect the decision of the Jackson County voters tonight. We’re disappointed. We feel we put forth the best offer for Jackson County. We were ready to extend the longstanding partnership [with Jackson County].

“This is important. We want to thank everyone that worked tirelessly on our behalf. We truly appreciate all the effort, all the time and all the work that you all put in.”

A “yes” vote would have extended a 3/8 cent sales tax to help fund the Royals’ new stadium and assist the Chiefs in maintaining and renovating the Arrowhead Stadium site for the next 40 years. The door now remains open for anything to happen following the Truman Sports Complex lease’s end in January 2031.

“We will do and will look to do what is in the best interest of our fans and our organization moving forward. Thank you very much,” concluded Donovan.