KC Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt supports sports betting. Could Kansas lure team with earnings?
Does Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt want to see legalized gambling in both Missouri and Kansas?
You bet.
“We’re very supportive of legalized sports betting,” Hunt said Friday, speaking to reporters before the NFL Draft’s second day began. “We know illegal sports betting has been going on for a long time and so we think it’s best that it comes out into the light where it can be regulated in an appropriate way.”
In the Kansas City area, Kansas is closer to legalizing sports betting than Missouri.
Early Friday morning, the Kansas Senate voted 21-12 to legalize sports betting. The move still needs approval from Gov. Laura Kelly.
Missouri has been working on sports betting laws for several years. This year’s bill stalled on the Senate floor. Hunt is hopeful the state that is home to the Chiefs and Royals, along with the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues, will eventually legalize sports betting.
“Kansas is close to getting it across the finish line,” Hunt said. “Missouri, unfortunately, has a little ways to go. But we’re optimistic. I think it’s just a matter of time before Missouri is able to get it across the finish line.”
Kansas would impose a 10% percent tack on each bet, and of the revenue collected, 80% would be earmarked into a fund the state could use to lure major pro sports teams.
The Chiefs have played at Arrowhead Stadium since the opening of the Truman Sports Complex in 1972. Royals owner John Sherman has expressed interest in relocating his MLB team to a downtown ballpark, and that has prompted the Chiefs to begin thinking about their own future — perhaps a bit earlier than they’d planned.
The lease expires for both teams in 2031.
“For us, the schedule is probably a little bit ahead of where it would naturally be because of the Royals wanting to be proactive,” Hunt said. “We’re very happy in Arrowhead. We still think it’s one of the great venues in the National Football League.
“Having said that, we want to work with the Royals and help them accomplish their goals, whatever that ends up being. We’ve started the process of evaluating whether Arrowhead has a chance of going past the end of this lease. That’s going to be an ongoing process over the next couple of years.”
Hunt specifically was asked about locations — the Chiefs’ current site at the Truman complex, which has seen little nearby development, or a potential new spot in Kansas.
“In the past we’ve felt (the current) location wasn’t perfect for additional development,” Hunt said. “But times change, right? Different areas of the city develop at different times. I think that’s something we’ll circle back around to as part of this evaluation.”
