The Kansas City Chefs, who have played in five Super Bowls and won three since 2020, announced Monday they will be leaving their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium for a new, domed stadium that will be built across the Kansas-Missouri state line and ready for the start of the 2031 season.
The announcement came shortly after a council of top Kansas lawmakers voted unanimously in a packed room at the Capitol to allow the state to issue just over $2.4 billion in bonds to cover about 60% of the costs of the new stadium, a new training facility and retail and entertainment space.
The bonds will be paid off with state sales and liquor tax revenues generated in a certain area surrounding them.
“The location of Chiefs games will change,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said after the meeting, “but some things won’t change. Our fans will still be the loudest in the NFL, our games will still be the best landing place in the world, and our players and coaches will be ready to compete for championships because both on and off the field, we are big dreamers and we are ready for the next chapter.”
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Chiefs plan to build their $3 billion stadium project in Kansas City, Kansas, near the Kansas Speedway and a shopping district known as The Legends. The area includes Children’s Mercy Park, home of MLS club Sporting Kansas City, and Legends Field, home of the Kansas City Monarchs minor league baseball team.
The Chiefs also plan to build their $300 million practice facility in the Kansas City metro area of Olathe, Kansas. They have committed to at least $700 million in other developments.
“Today’s announcement is truly historic. It’s actually a little surreal,” said Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. “Today’s announcement will impact the lives of Kansans for generations to come. Today’s announcement is a total gamechanger for our state.
“We’ve always been Chiefs fans,” Kelly said. “Now we’re Chiefs’ family.”
State officials also predict that more than 20,000 new construction jobs will be created.
While the final location for the stadium has not yet been determined, Chiefs president Mark Donovan said it would seat about 65,000, about 10,000 fewer fans than Arrowhead Stadium. That follows a trend in professional sports of building stadiums and arenas with fewer seats but more amenities, luxury seating and premium spaces.
“We have a lot of work to do. We’re still early in the process,” Hunt said. “In the coming months we will hire an architect and contractor and begin working on the five-year timeline to build a new stadium.”
The Chiefs’ move is a huge blow to Missouri lawmakers and Governor Mike Kehoe, who had been working on their own financing package to prevent a third NFL franchise and the second in a decade from leaving their borders; the Rams left St. Louis for Los Angeles, in part due to their inability to obtain financing to help replace The Dome at America’s Center.
Kehoe had backed a special legislative session in June to approve bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, plus up to $50 million in tax breaks for each stadium and unspecified help from local governments.
“They thought new and shiny was better than old and reliable,” Kehoe said after the Chiefs’ announcement, adding that the club was in talks with Missouri officials last week about staying in a renovated or rebuilt Arrowhead Stadium.
“We are not giving up. We are going to look for cracks in the armor and discover whether there is a Missouri Show-Me solution through our sports act.”
