TOPEKA, Kansas – Kansas City Chiefs announced Monday that they will leave Arrowhead Stadium, their longtime home in Missouri, for a new $3 billion domed stadium that will be built on the Kansas-Missouri state line and will be ready for the start of the 2031 season.
The announcement came shortly after the Kansas Board of Legislators voted unanimously to authorize the issuance of sales and revenue tax (STAR) bonds that will cover up to 70% of the cost of the stadium and surrounding mixed-use district. The bonds, estimated to cost about $2.4 billion, will be repaid using state sales and liquor tax revenue generated in the specific area around them.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said the family will commit $1 billion for additional development, some of which could also be incentivized by STAR bonds.
“As a family, we have decided that this is the right and best opportunity for the organization for several reasons,” Hunt said in a statement. “It's about the fans. My father [Lamar Hunt, who founded the franchise] was always about the fans and thinking about the future.
“This will give Chiefs a modern, multi-generational building, a building that can last at least 50 or 60 years. We believe this is the best for the region. This will give Kansas City the opportunity to participate in events that we cannot host right now, such as the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff and the NCAA Final Four.
The site for the new stadium has not yet been determined, but Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has said it will be in Wyandotte County. The Chiefs are interested in building a stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, near Kansas Speedway and the shopping and entertainment district known as the Legends. The area is home to Children's Mercy Park, as well as the home of MLS club Sporting Kansas City.
The stadium will have at least 65,000 seats, about 10,000 fewer than Arrowhead Stadium, Chiefs president Mark Donovan said. Donovan said the Chiefs will soon hire an architecture firm to begin designing the new stadium, a process that could take up to 18 months. Construction is expected to take up to three years. The team will also build a new $300 million training facility in Olathe, Kansas.
Kansas lawmakers believe the Chiefs' move will create more than 20,000 new jobs in the state and an economic impact of more than $4 billion.
“It’s a little surreal,” Kelly said. “Today’s announcement will impact the lives of Kansans for generations to come. Today’s announcement is a complete game changer for our state.”
The Chiefs' move was a huge blow to Missouri lawmakers and Gov. Mike Kehoe, who had been working on his own funding package to keep a third NFL franchise — and second in a decade — from expanding beyond its borders. Rams left St. Louis for Los Angeles in part due to an inability to secure financing to replace The Dome at America's Center.
“They thought new and shiny was better than old and reliable,” Kehoe said after the Chiefs' announcement. “We won't give up. We will look for chinks in the armor and find out if there is a solution to Show Me Missouri through our sports act.”
Kehoe supported a special legislative session in June to authorize the issuance of bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, as well as tax breaks of up to $50 million for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.
“We had great dialogue with Missouri until the end of last week,” Hunt said. “To be honest, not everything that needed to be solved was solved. The big difference is that here we work with one party, with the state of Kansas. In Missouri we worked with the governor's office, [Jackson County] as well as the city. We just couldn't meet the deadline.”
Nearly two years ago, the Chiefs teamed up with Arrowhead to plan an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead. members of the royal familywho also plan to build a new location to replace Kauffman Stadium. The facilities are located several hundred yards apart in a parking lot, and both teams have leases with Jackson County, Missouri, that expire in January 2031. At the time, Hunt said he and his family would contribute $300 million to the project.
Last year, Jackson County voters soundly rejected an extension of a local three-eighths-cent sales tax that would have helped pay for renovations at Arrowhead and also helped finance a new stadium for the Royals in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The difference in the teams' losses was staggering: 78,352 people voted against (58%) and 56,606 voted in favor (42%).
“While the Chiefs are not far behind and are not yet gone, today is a setback for a Kansas City man, former Chiefs season ticket holder and lifelong Chiefs fan,” Quinton Lucas, mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, said in a statement. “Business decisions are a reality and we all understand that, but Arrowhead Stadium is more than that: it’s a family, a tradition and a part of Kansas City that we will never leave.”
Hunt has long said his preference is to renovate Arrowhead Stadium, which was loved by his father, team founder Lamar Hunt, until his death in 2006. It is considered one of the crown jewels of the NFL, along with Green Bay's Lambeau Field, and is revered for its tailgate stage and home field advantage; it currently holds the Guinness World Records mark for the loudest stadium roar.
Arrowhead will host six World Cup matches this summer, including round of 32 and quarterfinal matches.
“We all feel some pain leaving Arrowhead,” Hunt said of fans who feel betrayed by the team's decision. “One of the great things about Arrowhead is the unforgettable experience. We will treasure every season there. It will be special for our family, organization and all fans. We all have so many special memories with him. We will truly celebrate Arrowhead because he deserves it.”
Lamar Hunt founded the Chiefs on August 14, 1959. The team was originally based in Dallas and known as the Texans, but then-Kansas City Mayor H. Rowe Bartle convinced Hunt to move the team to Missouri with promises of tripling the team's season ticket sales and expanding the capacity of Municipal Stadium.
In 1972, the Chiefs moved to Arrowhead at the Truman Sports Complex east of downtown Kansas City. Over the years, the stadium has undergone several renovations, allowing it to remain relevant in a changing sports environment. But there was virtually no economic development around the stadium. The building itself—the third-oldest in the NFL—is also starting to show signs of wear and tear.
Donovan reported Monday that Clark Hunt and his family voted unanimously late last week to move the Chiefs to Kansas.
“They were really thinking about their dad,” Donovan said. “A lot of these meetings were about, 'What would Dad do?' They were unanimous that he would want to do it. He would like to improve the fan experience and attract more fans.
“Our fans need to hear that this was a difficult decision. This is an emotional decision for everyone. We understand and respect that this is an emotional decision for our fans. This will take some time. Change is difficult. We appreciate it. I think over time people will see that this is the best decision for everyone involved, including our fans.”
Hunt acknowledged that with the new stadium, the Chiefs will be able to increase the number of luxury suites and amenities that will help boost the franchise's revenue.
“The design principles will be very specific,” Donovan said. “Even in the very first discussions that we had – and we got this from our fans in the polls that we did – it had to be loud. We believe that there are developed ways that can do [the new stadium] even louder [than Arrowhead].
“We must take into account that the ability to hide behind our backs is one of the most important parts of our entire experience. This is what we are best at, this is what we are celebrated for, and this is what our fans are proud of. This will be part of the design. These are the two most attractive parts of it. We want to create a world-class stadium that makes a statement.”
Hunt believes the biggest prize the new domed stadium will bring to the Chiefs will be Kansas City hosting the first-ever Super Bowl.
“We'll pay really, really hard for it,” Donovan said. “We think this will allow us to be competitive and bring this event here.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
