Kansas Commerce and Chiefs team lay out term sheet, Star Bonds plan and local benefit commitments

Rachel Willis of the Department of Commerce and representatives of the Kansas City Chiefs laid out a term sheet and financing plan before the Legislature’s Commerce committee during a public briefing.

Willis said the administration and Commerce negotiated the term sheet to meet specific fiscal guardrails: keep Star Bond financing under a 70% threshold, avoid dipping into base or state general‑fund revenue, promote high‑quality mixed‑use development around the stadium, and secure a growing annual community impact fund. "It expanded the Starbond's functionalities and allowed us to begin to really negotiate," Willis said as she summarized the document and noted the full term sheet is available online.

Court Maxwell, representing the Chiefs, described the deal as the state’s largest economic development project and emphasized expected job and revenue impacts. "$4,000,000,000 of construction means 20,000 construction jobs and careers," Maxwell said, adding that early studies project about 4,000 permanent jobs and more than $1 billion in annual economic activity. He stressed the team’s contention that the package requires no increase in taxes, does not use base general‑fund revenues and avoids pledging the state's full faith and credit for bonds.

Committee members pressed presenters on several points. Lawmakers sought clarity about public‑records access to negotiation documents after rumors that records would be closed until 2029; Maxwell said he had not seen such a timeline and that key documents must be public before votes under the state’s open‑records and open‑meetings rules. Representatives also asked for sales‑tax revenue projections tied to the Star Bond district; Commerce and the team described the district boundary drafting and underwriting work as ongoing and provided an early estimate that the drafted area contains roughly $11.5 billion in economic activity (about $10 billion after exclusions in existing Star Bond zones).

Members raised distribution and equity concerns. Maxwell said the Community Impact Fund (CIF) in the term sheet limits Kansas City–area spending to half of CIF dollars; the remaining 50% is intended for programs and projects outside the Kansas City region. Lawmakers from more rural parts of the state pressed for assurance local and western Kansas communities would see benefits; presenters said the CIF and state general‑fund receipts from income‑tax growth should provide statewide benefit, to be determined by future legislative appropriations.

On financing mechanics, the team explained the use of a public sports authority to hold stadium ownership. Maxwell argued a public authority avoids federal income taxation on incremental Star Bond receipts that would otherwise reduce project cash flows and jeopardize feasibility. He said the term sheet also contemplates local participation such as a targeted Community Improvement District (CID) for new development, while noting NFL ticket sales cannot be subjected to a ticket tax or CID on NFL tickets.

Lawmakers asked about labor commitments, transportation and public‑safety costs. The team said it has begun discussions with construction trades and planners, expects robust activity across the region and is coordinating with state and local transportation agencies and local governments on infrastructure and traffic management. Presenters said operational and maintenance obligations for the stadium are written into the term sheet and assigned to the team while the bond repayment model relies on incremental district revenue.

Maxwell said two legislative items are anticipated soon: authorization for a sports authority and reauthorization/extension of Star Bonds. Commerce and the team pledged ongoing engagement with legislators and local officials as the district boundaries, underwriting and definitive documents are completed.

The committee then shifted to a separate Commerce conversation about Garmin before adjourning.