In five days, the Chiefs (and Royals) will find out whether the voting-age taxpayers of Jackson County, Missouri, are willing to contribute millions in public money for stadium projects.
The Chiefs have their fingers crossed.
Via Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, Chiefs president Mark Donovan said the team is “cautiously optimistic” that the vote will pass.
The Chiefs are trying hard to make it happen. From enlisting star players and coach Andy Reid to help with a commercial to making the clear and obvious threat/promise that the team could leave Kansas City in 2031 without this pool of free money, the football team is all in (not the Jerry Jones way) to win.
The vote comes at a time when the voting public does not have the appetite to fund sports stadiums. Usually, these measures will prevail only if they can be finagled without the ballot box being involved. If any team can pull it off, it’s the Chiefs. If the Chiefs can’t, the message becomes clear to any other pro sports franchise that is thinking about trying.
Don’t.
