Wyandotte/Kansas City lawsuit settled, setting guidelines for local control on Chiefs project

A lawsuit filed by local government officials challenging the state of Kansas over its deal with the Kansas City Chiefs to build a stadium was settled Friday. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City sued the state over concerns it was losing local control, specifically asking to stop implementation of House Bill 2466, or the Kansas Sports Facilities Authority Act. The act gave the state authority to make deals with the Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals to bring their stadiums across the state line. In its initial court filing, the local governments said they would lose “power to tax, to zone and plan, to set and collect local fees, and to provide utility service through the community’s own publicly-owned utility.” Gov. Laura Kelly and Mayor Christal Watson said in a news release they “satisfactorily resolved concerns related to the Kansas City Chiefs Stadium project.” The unified government agreed to dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice, the release said.
Read more: Kansas Reflector