There are times it seems that the NFL teams are competing with each other for the biggest and best football stadium available. A state-of-the-art stadium these days runs into the billions.
On Monday morning, Kansas legislators voted unanimously to provide funding from state sales and liquor tax revenues that would cover 70% of the cost for a new domed stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City sits on both sides of the Kansas-Missouri border.
The move means that the Chiefs will be leaving their home in Arrowhead Stadium; where they have been since 1972.
The Chiefs plan to make the move in 2031.
Being located in a mix use district, the $3 billion stadium project in Kansas City, Kansas; will be near the Kansas Speedway, a retail district known as The Legends, Children’s Mercy Park, the home of MLS club Sporting Kansas City; and Legends Field, the home of the Kansas City Monarchs minor league baseball team.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt spoke on the move saying, “the location of Chiefs games will change but some things won’t change. Our fans will still be the loudest in the NFL, our games will still be the best place in the world to tailgate, and our players and coaches will be ready to compete for championships, because on the field or off the field, we are big dreamers, and we’re ready for the next chapter.”
A $300 million practice facility is also being planned for Olathe, Kansas – a suburb of Kansas City.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly noted, “today’s announcement is truly historic. Actually, it’s a little surreal. Today’s announcement will touch the lives of Kansans for generations to come. Today’s announcement is a total game-changer for our state. We have always been Chiefs fans; now we are Chiefs family.”
The exact location of the stadium is still unknown but Cheifs’ president Mark Donovan noted it would be a 65,000 seating capacity facility – around 10,000 fewer than Arrowhead.
Clark Hunt added, “we have a lot of work to do. We’re still early in the process. In the months ahead, we will hire an architect and contractor and get to work on the five-plus-year timeline to build a new stadium.”
A blow to Missouri, Governor Mike Kehoe said, “we won’t give up. We’ll look for cracks in the armor and find out if there’s a Missouri Show-Me solution through our sports act.”
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said, “while the Chiefs aren’t going far away and aren’t gone yet, today is a setback as a Kansas Citian. Business decisions are a reality and we all understand that, but Arrowhead Stadium is more — it’s family, tradition and a part of Kansas City we will never leave.”
Originally the Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals baseball team – who are also looking to build a new stadium – to renovate Arrowhead at a cost of $800 million. Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums sit across the parking lot at approximately 200 yards apart. The leases signed by the Chiefs and Royals with Jackson County expire in 2031.
Calling it one of the jewels of the NFL – alongside Lambeau Field in Green Bay – Clark Hunt was in favour of the renovations.
Arrowhead Stadium currently holds the Guiness Book of World Records for the loudest stadium roar.
Last year Jackson County voted down a sales tax extension that would have provided the funding for the Arrowhead renovations and a new baseball stadium.
The Royals were not discussed during the vote by the Kansas legislature but it should be noted that an affiliate of the Royals has purchased a plot of land in Overland Park, Kansas.
Arrowhead Stadium is scheduled to host six of the World Cup games next summer – including a match in the quarterfinals.