Chiefs likely to find a new home in the State of Kansas after tax proposal to renovate Arrowhead Stadium gets rejected

The State of Kansas is looking to approve a House Bill to facilitate the Chiefs' move.

Chiefs likely to find a new home in the State of Kansas after tax proposal to renovate Arrowhead Stadium gets rejected

Kansas City Stadium (via FORBES)

The Kansas City Chiefs are in a bizarre position. Despite having established themselves as a winning franchise, the team struggles to find a home field to play on. 

The team’s existing stadium, Arrowhead, is one of the oldest ones in the NFL. It is in dire need of renovations, and as the team’s lease to play at GEHA Field is nearing an end, CEO Clark Hunt is reluctant to sign a long-term lease to keep the Chiefs in Jackson County, Missouri, unless the state promises to renovate the field.

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A recent vote to allocate a percentage of tax dollars toward funding the renovation of Arrowhead Stadium did not go in the favor of the Kansas City Chiefs. The proposal would have given the KC Royals and Chiefs new stadiums to play in. The State of Kansas is closely monitoring this situation and views an opportunity in this fiasco.

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As per KCTV CBS 5, the State of Kansas is looking to pass a House Bill that would alter the criteria for sales tax and revenue or STAR bond qualification.

These bonds enable municipalities in the State of Kansas to issue bonds to finance the development of major projects for commercial use, entertainment, and tourism.

The State of Kansas is hoping for the Chiefs and the Royals to shift their stadiums from Missouri

It is a clear attempt to entice the Chiefs to cross the state line from Missouri. The bill will further require professional sports teams looking to develop their stadiums to build a complex with a minimum of 30,000 seats, along with $1 billion in terms of investment.

Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium (via Kansas City Chiefs)

Ideally, the state is making a play for the Chiefs and the Royals to come together across state lines. The Chiefs may not have a better option than this at the moment, but with the tax vote going against them in Jackson County, Missouri, a potential move to Kansas will be beneficial for them.

It would result in them not having to move entirely to a new city, and since the legislation in the State of Kansas does not mandate the subject of a stadium sales tax to be up for voting, it would allow the team to build a new state-of-the-art stadium.

CEO Clark Hunt understands that a decision needs to be made at the earliest with respect to this matter. 

I do feel very much a sense of urgency, and we will approach it from a broader perspective going forward because time is short for us at this point. So, we need to see what other options are out there for us. I really can't speculate on how any of that is going to turn out.
Clark Hunt said

Despite attempting their best to continue playing at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the situation is no longer sustainable for the team to remain there unless they know that renovations will be made to the location.

Despite the vote going against them, the Chiefs’ moving out of Arrowhead is not certain yet, but that remains contingent on the security that the state can provide with respect to developing their home stadium in the coming years.

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