Chiefs moving to Kansas? State ‘aggressively pursuing’ team amid new stadium report – The New York Times

NFL
The Kansas City Chiefs have played at Arrowhead Stadium since 1972. Kirby Lee / Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas Department of Commerce said it was in “active discussions” with the Kansas City Chiefs about a move across state lines — one that could be approved as soon as Monday.
The Department of Commerce released a statement Thursday, saying it was aware of reports linking the Chiefs to a move to a new domed stadium in Kansas. That came hours after Kansas City Sports Radio 810’s Soren Petro was first to report that the Chiefs’ relocation to Kansas was close to imminent.
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“No final agreement has been reached,” the department’s statement read, “but this would be a massive economic win for Kansas and benefit Kansans for generations to come. We are aggressively pursuing this opportunity.”
The state’s Legislative Coordinating Council is set to meet at 1 p.m. Monday in Topeka, where it could approve previously proposed state bonds that would cover up to 70 percent of the cost of building a new stadium.
If the Chiefs’ move is approved Monday, it would complete a lengthy process in which the team focused on choosing between two specific sites: moving to a state-of-the-art domed stadium in Kansas or renovating Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri. The new stadium was previously projected to cost $3 billion, and a renovated Arrowhead Stadium would’ve been the cheaper option at roughly $1 billion.
A move to Kansas — and an indoor stadium — opens up many additional avenues for the Chiefs. That includes hosting a Super Bowl. Team president Mark Donovan is on the NFL’s committee to select Super Bowl sites, and he has shared previous optimism the Chiefs would be chosen should the team build a new indoor stadium.
The Chiefs’ current lease at Truman Sports Complex — home of Arrowhead Stadium — is set to expire in January 2031. That means the team is set to play its games at that site through the 2030 campaign.
A move to Kansas would result in the Chiefs moving on from one of the NFL’s most historic venues. Arrowhead, which was built in 1972, is the third-oldest stadium in the league, behind only Chicago’s Soldier Field and Green Bay’s Lambeau Field.
Donovan told reporters in October the team had still been pursuing information on the Kansas and Missouri options. Not only had the team’s leadership upgraded its design for a renovated Arrowhead Stadium based on fan surveys, but it had also hired consulting firm CAA Icon to obtain competitive quotes for a domed stadium in Kansas.
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The Chiefs have been playing in Kansas City, Mo., since 1963, when then-owner Lamar Hunt moved his Dallas Texans AFL franchise north and renamed them the Chiefs.
Thursday’s developments concerned only the Chiefs and not the MLB’s Kansas City Royals, who are also in the process of choosing between the two states for their future stadium home.
The Chiefs reconsidered their plans for a stadium location after an April 2024 sales-tax initiative failed in Jackson County. The proposal, which would’ve extended a three-eighths-cent sales tax to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri for another 25 years, had a 58 percent “no” vote to 42 percent “yes.”
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, just before that vote, anticipated it would pass but also said his team would “have to consider all of our alternatives” if it didn’t.
The franchise appears to be on the verge of taking advantage of Kansas legislators’ offer of approved state bonds, which had bipartisan support. They would be paid off over 30 years through sports betting, lottery tickets and tax revenue.
The Chiefs have become a model franchise over the past 10 years, even while suffering through a disappointing 6-8 campaign this season. K.C. has reached five of the past six Super Bowls and has won three championships in that time, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and coach Andy Reid.
This could mark the second time in the last 10 years the state of Missouri has lost an NFL franchise. The St. Louis Rams relocated to Los Angeles before the 2016 season after a 21-year tenure in Missouri.
Jesse Newell is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. Before joining The Athletic, Jesse worked as a staff writer for the Kansas City Star, Topeka Capital-Journal and Lawrence Journal-World while covering the Chiefs and University of Kansas Athletics. Jesse has won an EPPY for best sports blog and previously has been named top beat writer in his circulation by AP’s Sports Editors. He is originally from Emporia, Kansas. Follow Jesse on Twitter @jessenewell

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