Kansas CITY, Kan. – Republican House Rep. Sean Tarwater of Stilwell spoke with FOX4 Wednesday about the effort to try to bring the Chiefs to Kansas along with Republican House Speaker Dan Hawkins of Wichita .
“We invite the Chiefs to respond and weigh in on the possibility of collaborating with Kansas to reach the Kansas side of the border,” Hawkins said Wednesday of his joint letter with Republican state Senate President Ty Masterson of Andover to the president. and CEO of the Chiefs. Clark Hunt.
Hawkins said he and Masterson wrote the letter a week or two ago. However, it was released publicly on Tuesday.
“I imagine a lot of people received text messages. Those didn’t come from us,” Hawkins also said of the ‘Scoop and Score’ group. “That came from an organization that is working on those issues and of course we now get a lot of emails about those texts.”
That group was co-founded by former Republican House Speaker Ron Ryckman of Olathe.
“The Chiefs deserve a permanent home in Kansas City, and the STAR Bond Project for Professional Sports Franchises would keep the Chiefs in Kansas City for generations to come, at no new cost to taxpayers,” says the text addressed to Kansas.
FOX4 asked Tarwater about Scoop and Score.
“Well, I know I made a comment when we introduced the bill that Missouri had fumbled and we want to be in a Scoop and Score position, but I was quoting someone else who cited the Kansas City Star earlier. , so I can’t really take credit for that,” Tarwater said.
Tarwater was talking about Ryckman. Tarwater said there are several lobbyists who have signed up to be part of this group.
“They’re in this because they want to do this,” Tarwater said of the people who have gotten involved. “For example, President Ryckman has been working to bring the Chiefs to Kansas for many years and I think he just wants to make this happen. “I don’t think there is much money for him.”
Ryckman did not comment to FOX4 on camera Wednesday, but issued a statement the day before..
Tarwater says he thinks it is important that both Masterson and Hawkins agree to the Sales Tax and Revenue Bond (STAR) proposal that could be discussed Tuesday, June 18 during the Special Session. He said neither of them are usually big fans of STAR Bond.
Tarwater also believes Wyandotte County Democrats support using STAR bonds to try to bring the Chiefs to their county. He thinks they remember when there was nothing at Kansas Speedway.
“It now generates almost $100 million in sales taxes,” Tarwater added, referring to the track. “5,700 new jobs and a hundred companies that would never have existed have been created.”
Kansas News: Headlines from Wichita, Topeka and across the Sunflower State
Hawkins says he hasn’t spoken to Hunt, but he also made clear that the Special Session will focus first on tax reform. If that passes both chambers, then they could consider reforming the STAR bonuses to make the state more attractive to the Chiefs.
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“I continue to believe that the Kansas City Chiefs will continue to play at Arrowhead Stadium for years to come,” Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a statement sent to FOX4 on Wednesday. “Kansas City works hard to keep all of our businesses here every day and I have had the opportunity to speak with the leadership of both the Chiefs and the Royals since the election and we will continue to engage with them to ensure they continue to play in Kansas City. , Missouri.”
The Chiefs had no comment on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. The Royals say they are exploring all their options.
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