With two straight Super Bowl victories and on the path to a record third, the Kansas City Chiefs are undeniably living through one of the most glorious periods in their history. Until you look at their stadium situation. For a champion side, their stadium fails to deliver a fan experience worth the salt. Now with Jackson County rejecting their renovation plans, it doesn’t seem like things will be improving anytime soon.
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However, the Chiefs aren’t short of options. After the rejection news hit the streets, various counties from the Kansas state have reportedly thrown their hat in the ring to be the next home for the Chiefs. KMBC 9’s local correspondent Matt Evans in coverage earlier today reported that Clay County members are interested in bringing either the Royals or the Chiefs other both to their county. Matt also revealed that the State House in Topeka is also “buzzing” with the prospect of being the next home to the Chiefs. He reported,
“Now, it’s not just Clay County that would be interested in the possibility of bringing in the Royals or the Chiefs, but the Kansas State House in Topeka has also been buzzing today about the possibility of bringing one or both of the teams across the state line.”
Kansas Senator David Haley of Topeka also gave a statement to KMBC 9 where he inspired confidence in his county by sharing their “proven track record” in being home to magnanimous entertainment venues.
“But I do think it’s doable. We have a proven track record for successfully bringing large entertainment and economic development venues to the state in this region already.”
It will be truly sad to see Arrowhead Stadium move away from its original location. As much as we hope for a truce, a lot of signs as of now point towards a change in location for the Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs Set For a New Home Stadium?
It’s been nearly 20 years since the Arrowhead last underwent a major renovation. The Chiefs owners and management know this and thus designed a renovation plan for the stadium with state-of-the-art features. The $800 million renovation project was supposed to be funded between the Kansas City owners ($300 million) and the Jackson County taxpayers ($500 million). The citizens were asked to extend the existing three-eighths of a cent sales tax with a similar tax structure for the next 40 years.
To put things into context, it is this sales tax that has funded the maintenance of the Truman Sports Complex. But in a surprise move, north of 58% of voters rejected the plan putting the renovation plans on hold. This rejection now leaves the Chiefs with two choices – either re-work the cost of the renovation plan and convince the citizens to pay the sales tax at a more favorable rate. Or the dreaded option is to shift camps and entertain the other counties of Kansas who are eager to host the KC Chiefs and KC Royals stadium.
This option was also hinted at by the Chiefs’ President Mark Donovan last month when asked what his response would be if the voters rejected the Chiefs’ appeal. For a champion side like the Chiefs, a hassle like this for the fans is undesirable. Shifting bases would be a big move. But if a deal doesn’t work out between the taxpayers and Chiefs management, it will be interesting to see how the latter tackle this turmoil.
