Caleb Harris
The Kansas City Chiefs had every intention of remaining at Arrowhead Stadium, extending the lease on a renovated facility and stadium complex that would keep the franchise in the state of Missouri for decades to come. The renewal plans still have one hurdle to overcome, and the state of Kansas is officially ready to pounce.
Kansas lawmakers approved a House bill that would change certain criteria for qualifying for STAR (sales and income tax) bonds, via Associated Press. STAR bonds are a financing tool that allows Kansas municipalities to issue bonds to finance the development of large commercial, entertainment and tourism projects. The measure now heads to the Kansas Senate.
The attempt to entice the Chiefs to cross the state line from Missouri to Kansas is seriously in play. The bill will also require any professional sports team development to include a 30,000-plus seat complex with at least $1 billion in investment. This is also an attempt to attract the Kansas City Royals’ new MLB stadium plans to Kansas.
The Chiefs announced plans to renovate GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium this year, but those plans could be changing thanks to some developments in April. Voters in Jackson County, Missouri, rejected a sales tax measure that would have helped fund major renovations to Arrowhead Stadium and a new downtown stadium for the Royals.
As the measure was not approved, the Chiefs may have to look elsewhere and build a new stadium. A potential move to Kansas does not force the Chiefs to relocate to another city if they cannot reach an agreement with Jackson County. The Kansas legislature does not need to put a stadium sales tax on the ballot, giving the Chiefs an option they will strongly consider.
“I feel a great sense of urgency and we are going to approach this from a broader perspective going forward because time is short for us right now. So we need to see what other options are available to us,” Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt said in April via a transcript provided by the team. “I can’t really speculate on how this will turn out.
“GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium is a special place for our family and our fan base. That was one of the reasons we focused on it in the last effort. Going forward, it may make more sense for us to be in a new stadium.”
The Chiefs will have options to build a new stadium, which appears to be the plan moving forward with STAR criteria approval. Hunt isn’t abandoning the opportunity to remain at Arrowhead Stadium, but getting a new stadium is gaining momentum.
The new stadium may not be an open-air stadium either.
“We were obviously very focused on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. It’s obviously a special place for our fan base and I believe it could be a special place for our fan base for another 25 years with the right renovation,” Hunt said. “But we’re going to have to be open-minded in how we approach this.
“That could involve a new stadium, and it could be an open-air stadium or it could be a domed stadium.”
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