Chiefs STAR bond deal is more than double amount of 23 other projects combined

An Amelia Earhart Museum in Atchison. Civic and entertainment upgrades in Dodge City. A sports and retail complex in Overland Park. A soccer stadium and a NASCAR track in Kansas City. Downtown revitalization in cities around the state.

All are among about 23 transformative projects that have benefited from Kansas’ STAR bond program, which redirects sales tax revenue in specific districts to help cover the costs of development that will draw visitors to the state.

Altogether, as listed in a 2024 state report, the state issued around $1 billion in bonds that helped finance the 23 projects’ costs. The program started in 1999.

STAR bonds, or sales tax and revenue bonds, are not taxpayer funds themselves. The bonds are paid for by private investors, and new sales tax revenue from the project area then goes back into paying off the bonds.

But the plan contemplated for the Kansas City Chiefs’ move across the state line into Kansas, announced in late December, could award $2.775 billion in STAR bonds, more than double the amount for those 23 projects combined.

That reflects a prominent new height for the STAR bond tool, which does not exist in Missouri.

The Chiefs plan would finance 60% of the construction of a new domed stadium in Wyandotte County and a new headquarters and practice facility in Olathe, alongside other related development. STAR bond projects were previously capped at 50% financing through the program.

STAR bonds include drawing lines to create a district from which state, and possibly local, sales tax revenues will be captured. For the Chiefs, that district could include nearly all of Wyandotte County and much of western Johnson County.

New sales tax revenue within the district above a certain baseline set by the Kansas Department of Commerce would be directed toward the Chiefs’ development until the bonds are paid off. That would direct funds away from other government priorities for up to 30 years.

One economist told The Star that the public side of the deal could end up costing $6.3 billion when debt service, property tax breaks and other financial pieces are factored in.

This story was originally published January 4, 2026 at 6:21 AM with the headline "Chiefs STAR bond deal is more than double amount of 23 other projects combined."