Back in April, the residents of Jackson County, Missouri, home of both the Chiefs and Royals, rejected a sales tax proposal that would have funded renovations to Arrowhead and built a new downtown stadium for the Royals. Both teams subsequently hinted that they would consider looking elsewhere when their current leases expire in January of 2031.
Yesterday, the Kansas legislature passed a bill that would authorize the state to issue billions of dollars in bonds to construct new stadiums for one or both teams. The bonds would theoretically be paid off over a 30-year period by a combination of tax revenue from the stadiums and surrounding development, sports gambling revenue and Lottery revenue.
The bill passed with overwhelming support from both parties, and Governor Laura Kelly is expected to sign it into law, or perhaps let it become law without her signature.
These bonds (called STAR bonds) were successfully used to build the Kansas Speedway, but other projects have not been nearly as successful and ended in default.
The ball(s) are now in Missouri’s court. I would expect similar action by the Missouri legislature, or another tax referendum. Stay tuned.
I’m a huge Bears fan, but I’m also pleased that Illinois’ Governor Pritzker is pushing back against providing any public funding for a new Bears’ stadium. I imagine he’ll probably cave at some point, but IMO it’s well past time for the public to stop building stadiums that enrich billionaires.
The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.
I would not be at all surprised to learn that the money which Russell made in the NFL is long gone. It’s now been 15 years since he last played in the NFL, and way too many players who get big contracts spend that money like it’s going out of style, and don’t invest it (or get conned into making bad investments), only to find themselves broke once the football money stops coming in.
In addition, Russell has had substance abuse issues (specifically, codeine), and he never struck me as being a particularly sharp guy.
None of that excuses trying to bilk a school supporter, or stealing money, but the fact that he did this unfortunately doesn’t surprise me.
Former Oregon cornerback Khyree Jackson, an incoming rookie that was a fourth-round selection of the Minnesota Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft, has died in a car accident along with two other people.
He was a passenger in a car that was struck by another one going at a high rate of speed.
The big difference is that Burlsworth’s vehicle drifted across the road, but both were middle-round draft picks who were killed in auto accidents before they got to play their first game.
The NFL has a very specific way that they set up their schedule now.
Week 1 of the regular season is always the weekend after Labor Day. And, the first game is always on the Thursday night after Labor Day, with the home team always being the reigning Super Bowl champs (in this case, the Chiefs).
