State rep asks Gov. Parson to call special session, ‘finance fully’ Arrowhead renovations

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - As Kansas lawmakers increase efforts to attract the Kansas City Chiefs across state lines, one Missouri legislator is asking his state to counter.

Missouri State Representative Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City) sent a letter on Friday to Republican Governor Mike Parson asking him to convene a special session over Kansas’ attempt to pull the Chiefs away.

“We can’t just sit idly by and just allow Kansas to steal our Kansas City Chiefs right in front of us,” Sharp told KCTV5 on June 5. “We have to be aggressive and we have to be as aggressive as the Kansas legislature is currently.”

In Sharp’s letter to Parson, the state representative expressed a sense of urgency in taking action.

Parson told KCTV5 on June 6 that he doesn’t think a special session is necessary, at least not as of a week ago.

The governor said Missouri has time to make its case for the team to continue calling the state home, saying he wants to see the Sunflower State’s plan first. He said he plans to approach any proposal as a business deal, which is how the Chiefs will also approach the situation.

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“Again there’s plenty of time to make decisions. We’re not going to come in here and start a special session to try and make a quick decision not knowing what to do. The Chiefs organization is a very professional organization run as a business, which it should be, so they’re not going to make any hesitant moves either.”

On Monday night, Sharp said the “appetite is not there” in Jefferson City to convene a special session.

Last week, Kansas lawmakers announced that they will introduce a special-session bill offering heavy tax incentives to draw either the Chiefs or the Royals across the state line.

Jackson County voters rejected a 3/8-cent sales tax proposal that would have gone toward funding a downtown ballpark for the Royals and renovation of Arrowhead Stadium.

In late April, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said the organization is reassessing its options for the future, whether that be at Arrowhead Stadium or building a new venue.

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