Gov. Blunt fears revenue loss under NFL's overseas game plan

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Matt Blunt is concerned about the loss of tax revenue if the Kansas City Chiefs and the St. Louis Rams play regular-season home games outside the United States, as announced recently by the NFL, The Kansas City Star reported Friday.

Sales taxes that fans pay on tickets, parking, food and hotel rooms would be lost for those games, which would occur every 16 years for each team under the NFL proposal.

"We think it is only fair that the state receive compensation for the loss of revenue, because it is a lot of money," Blunt spokesman Brian Hauswirth told The Star. "There is a huge impact on restaurants and hotels and gas stations and everything. There is really a ripple effect."

Last month NFL owners agreed that starting next season, teams would play out of the country at least twice during a 16-year period, once as a visitor and once as a home team, in host countries such as Canada, Mexico, England or Germany.

The Chiefs declined to provide a breakdown of sales tax receipts, but an overseas game would cost local and state tax coffers more than $500,000, according to sales tax data reviewed by The Star.

The league owners agreed that the NFL would cover the loss of revenue that home teams would experience for giving up a home game. But the league did not address the loss of revenue to governmental entities, the newspaper said.

But the NFL is not likely to make up for any tax gap, said spokesman Brian McCarthy.

"NFL teams deliver tremendous benefits to their communities but cannot be asked to guarantee specific sums," he said. "We will deliver significant value to the community in the form of national and international promotion at no charge to the community."

Some officials of Jackson County, which leases the Truman Sports Complex stadiums to the Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals, want the county's shortfall covered as well. They said they were unaware the stadium leases were changed to give up one home game per year without any financial consideration before voters approved them this year.

"We had our eye on the ball, which was to keep the Chiefs and Royals here for another 25 years," said Henry Rizzo, chairman of the Jackson County Legislature. "And I think doing that aggressively probably caused us to make a few mistakes that we are going to have to live with."

But other county officials say they would gladly give up one regular-season home game to get Kansas City attention on the international stage.

Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt said he would try to get an additional major college football game for Arrowhead Stadium the year of the international game. That makeup game would be vital to the city, said budget officer Troy Schulte. Kansas City stands to lose about $200,000 out of the $500,000 total.

In a letter to The Star, Hunt said he has concerns that must be resolved before he gives final approval to an international game. He said the Chiefs could play a fifth preseason game, "thus assuring that the 10 home-game schedule would be played with continuity."

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com