The Chiefs have called Kansas City “home” since 1963 — but it appears that the two-time defending Super Bowl champions are getting ready to move in the coming years.
Back in April, voters in Jackson County, Missouri — the county in which Kansas City is located — surprisingly turned down a ballot measure to add a sales tax that would have helped fund renovations to Arrowhead Stadium, where the Chiefs have played since 1972. A new development has made the Chiefs’ future a little clearer — and it looks very much like it will not be in Jackson County.
Lawmakers in Kansas want the Chiefs
Kansas state lawmakers on Tuesday voted in favor of a proposal to authorize state bonds that would help finance new facilities — including new stadiums — for Kansas City’s Chiefs and Royals, who currently play right next door to Arrowhead at Kauffman Stadium. The teams’ leases in Missouri expire on Jan. 1, 2031, and they could simply move 10 minutes across the border into Kansas, to facilities covered mostly by those state bonds.
The move would not cover a great distance but it would still be a seismic shift, ending decades of play for both franchises in Kansas City. Though any stadium move for the city’s NFL and MLB teams is still a few years away, the state of Kansas is positioning itself to be ready for them — Democratic governor Laura Kelly has indicated she would sign legislation to bring the Chiefs and Royals across state lines.
However, some legislators remain wary that the Chiefs are using nearby Kansas as leverage to extract what they want out of Missouri state lawmakers and local leaders. The local economy in Kansas City (Missouri) would suffer if the Chiefs especially were to move — given the team’s success in recent years with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Andy Reid in town — and that would result in a “zero-sum game” for the two Midwest states.
There remains a chance that Chiefs ownership works out a deal to renovate Arrowhead — but they will have to do it without the level of public involvement they sought earlier this year.
