Chiefs ‘could LEAVE Arrowhead with Kansas considering funding a new stadium to lure the Super Bowl champions across the state border’

According to a report, the Kansas City Chiefs already appear to have one foot out the door at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs' lease on the Truman Sports Complex, where Arrowhead is located in Kansas City, Missouri, expires in 2031 and it is believed the franchise could seek greener pastures elsewhere.

Jackson County and Kansas City officials are concerned that both the Chiefs and MLB's Kansas City Royals could move. Kansas City business magazine.

During the Chiefs' overseas NFL game against the Miami Dolphins in Germany last month, Kansas leaders, including state Gov. Laura Kelly, discussed possible state funding for a new stadium with the organization, should it choose to relocate.

Kansas is believed to be using sales tax revenue (STAR) bonds designed for tourism-driven projects and the Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund included in the state's sports betting law last year to To lure Chiefs to the other side. the state border.

It remains unclear how the new stadium would be financed or where it would be located.

Kansas Governor Kelly has previously hinted that she is trying to create a new home for the Chiefs, saying at a 2022 press conference that she would be “all in favor” of the Chiefs moving to Kansas and that her state's truce in economic development on the Missouri border “was not good enough.” does not 'contain' the team.

Both the Chiefs and Royals are engaged in negotiations with Jackson County with the Truman Sports Complex, where both teams are currently located, with the existing three-eighths of a cent sales tax being a major issue.

The two teams have reportedly expressed interest in holding a tax extension vote in April 2024, with a January 23 deadline to decide such a vote on the books.

However, with the January deadline looming and the Jackson County Legislature set to go on a two-week recess beginning Dec. 6, some officials are said to be concerned that both teams could be packing their bags.

“When it comes to the reality of this, I don't know how much more blunt I can get: I've had conversations with people who specifically said, 'We're considering out-of-state offers,' and that based on those things, (a) vote in April is a necessity, and the three-eighths-cent sales tax extension is a necessity,” County Legislator Manny Abarca told the Kansas City Business Journal.

“My rebuttal to that is that we need to offer the taxpayers something that they will agree to by offering a better deal than what we have now. Both teams have certainly been open to what that could be, and I will say it's up to the county executive (Frank White Jr.), if he's the lead negotiator, to figure that out.”

But Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas emphasized that he is 90 percent confident the Chiefs will remain in Kansas City after meeting with team officials in Germany.

“I think we still have a good path to keep (the teams) in Kansas City,” Lucas said in an interview with 610 Sports Radio this week.

“I think the Royals… are determined to move. I think that looks more and more like downtown Kansas City every day. All I've heard from the Chiefs so far… is that they want to make sure they can get a good deal at Arrowhead Stadium. I don't think that has changed, despite whatever frustration there may be in the negotiations over Jackson County leadership and the sports teams.”

The Chiefs would reportedly prefer to remain in Arrowhead and make upgrades and renovations to the stadium.

However, Chiefs president Mark Donovan emphasized in June that a new stadium at the Truman Sports Complex or a move elsewhere remains “part of our dialogue.”