The Kansas City Chiefs had every intention of remaining at Arrowhead Stadium, extending the lease for a renovated facility and stadium complex that would keep the franchise in the state of Missouri for the next few decades. Renovation projects still have hurdles to clear and the state of Kansas is ready to pounce.
According to KCTV CBS 5 in Kansas City, the state of Kansas is seeking to approve a bill that would change some eligibility criteria for STAR (sales tax and revenue) bonds. STAR Bonds are a financing tool that allows Kansas municipalities to issue bonds to finance the development of large commercial, entertainment and tourism projects.
In this case, the attempt to lure the Chiefs to cross the Missouri-Kansas border is at stake. The bill will also require any professional sports team development to include a complex of more than 30,000 seats with at least $1 billion in investment. It’s also an attempt to lure plans for a new Royals stadium to Kansas.
The Kansas City Chiefs have announced plans to renovate GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium this year, but those plans could change thanks to some developments earlier this month. Voters in Jackson County, Missouri, rejected a sales tax measure that would have helped fund major renovations to Arrowhead Stadium and a new downtown baseball stadium for the Kansas City Royals.
With the measure not passing, the Chiefs may have to look elsewhere and build a new stadium. A possible move to Kansas does not require the Chiefs to move to another city if they cannot reach a deal with Jackson County. Kansas law does not require a stadium sales tax, giving the Chiefs an option they will seriously consider.
“I really feel a sense of urgency, and we will approach it from a broader perspective in the future, because we are running out of time at this point, so we need to see what other options are available to us,” said the CEO of the Chiefs. said Clark Hunt at the end of the draft on Saturday, via a team transcript. “I really can’t speculate on how this is all going to play out.
“GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium is a special place for our family and fans. That’s one of the reasons we focused on it with the last effort. In the future, perhaps it will make more sense for us to be in a new stadium.”
The Chiefs will have the option to build a new stadium, which appears to be the plan going forward. Hunt isn’t giving up on the opportunity to stay 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 fans and I think it could be a special place for our fans for another 25 years with the right renovation,” Hunt said . “But we’ll just have to be open-minded in how we approach this.
“It could involve a new stadium, and it could be an open-air stadium or a domed stadium.”
