Big changes are coming to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On Monday, team owner and chairman Clark Hunt announced that the team will be moving out of Kansas City, Mo., and into a new stadium in Kansas City, Kans., on which construction is expected to conclude in time for the 2031 season. Unlike Arrowhead, where the Chiefs currently play, this new stadium will be domed.
“Today we are excited to take another momentous step for the future of the franchise,” Hunt wrote in a statement. “We have entered into an agreement with the State of Kansas to host Chiefs football beginning with the 2031 NFL season. In the years ahead, we look forward to designing and building a state-of-the-art domed stadium and mixed-use district in Wyandotte County, and a best-in-class training facility, team headquarters, and mixed-use district in Olathe, totaling a minimum of $4 billion of development in the State of Kansas.”
Hunt went on to explain that a new, domed stadium will allow both Kansas City, Kansas, and the venue itself to host “Super Bowls, Final Fours, and other world-class events,” resulting in “monumental” economic benefit to the region. Moreover, a new training facility and headquarters will assist in the team’s continued efforts to “attract top talent."”
“Of course, it will be difficult to bid farewell to Arrowhead Stadium in a few years,” Hunt continued. “But the truth is, what makes Chiefs gamedays so special is you. Seats don’t make noise, concrete doesn’t intimidate opponents, parking lots don’t cook barbecue. You do.”
The Chiefs have played at Arrowhead since 1972; the stadium is currently the third oldest in the NFL and oldest of any team outside of the NFC North. But the team's lease will expire at the end of the 2031 season, and Kansas is making the switch worth it for both the team and the Hunt family. According to Yahoo! Sports, Missouri approved a plan over the summer that would use public funds to pay for up to half the cost of new stadiums for both the Chiefs and the Royals. But under Kansas's proposal, 60% of the project will be funded publicly, per Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.
“Today we are announcing an agreement to bring our beloved Kansas City Chiefs right here to Kansas," the governor said of the move. "For the rest of the nation, I say take heed. Kansas is not a flyover state. We are a touchdown state.”
Sadness, finger-pointing in Missouri
While those in KCK are no doubt excited about the impending change, those in Kansas City, Mo.—including Mayor Quinton Lucas—are quite bummed, if not at least somewhat understanding.
"Today is a loss for the Arrowhead tradition that so many of us in the Chiefs Kingdom hold dear. At the new location, folks will make new memories," Lucas said in a statement. But for many dedicated fans, "this will be a tough adjustment."
"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."
Added Missouri House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, speaking with The Kansas City Star: "No matter how long we had to ... think about this as a possibility, it’s still a shock to the system."
Per the Star, Missouri state officials had spent the last six months working on an incentives package they believed was enough to keep the team from jumping ship. In the end, however, Kansas’s offer won out.
“Chiefs fans deserved loyalty and transparency,” said Missouri Rep. Mark Sharp. “Instead, a combination of local dysfunction, state-level inaction, and organizational indifference brought us to this moment—and our community is being left to pay the price!”
Patterson added that the shock of the change should serve as an incentive to stop the Royals from exiting the state, as well.
“As easy as it would be to now play the blame game here in Missouri, I think it’s best we regroup and get together as city, state and county leaders and see what we can do about maybe keeping the Kansas City Royals in Missouri,” the speaker said.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chiefs Release Statement Explaining Move Out of Missouri, Arrowhead Stadium.