Sports

The Kansas City TIF Commission voted on September 9, 2026, to recommend a financing plan for a $1.9 billion Royals stadium at Crown Center, with up to $381.9 million in reimbursable project costs, but the City Council had not yet cast a final approval vote as of September 16. The City has already committed $600 million via special-obligation bonds, which carried a reported interest rate of 5.725 percent compared to 4.25 percent for general-obligation bonds, a gap estimated to cost the City roughly $7 million more per year. Redirected tax revenues are not projected to cover the full bond debt, leaving Kansas City responsible for any annual shortfall.

The NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS, along with their players' unions, sent a joint letter on September 15, 2026, asking gambling regulators in 35 states and D.C. to permanently revoke wagering privileges from bettors who make violent threats or serious harassment toward athletes, coaches, and officials. The proposal calls for a standardized reporting system, a shared interstate exclusion list, and a requirement that sportsbook operators flag and ban abusive accounts as a condition of their state licenses. No regulator had publicly agreed to the proposals as of the reporting date, and the WNBPA noted that WNBA players were not included in the initiative.