The Kansas City Chiefs will be moving to the state of Kansas after calling Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri home for over 50 years, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced Monday.
Kelly said the team will bring 20,000 jobs and over $4 billion in economic impact with a new domed stadium, team headquarters and practice facility just over the Kansas-Missouri border in Wyandotte County.
Officials expect the new stadium to open in time for the 2031 season.
The move comes after a Kansas legislative committee approved a bonding package to support the move earlier in the day.
The Legislative Coordinating Council, which includes the state's top lawmakers, voted unanimously inside a packed room at the state capitol to allow for STAR bonds to be issued to cover up to 70% of the cost of a stadium and accompanying district. The bonds would be paid off with state sales and liquor tax revenues generated in a defined area around it.
The Chiefs have played at Arrowhead Stadium on the Missouri side of Kansas City since 1972. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and city officials planned to address the media later Monday.
While considered a win for Kansas, the move by the Chiefs is a massive blow to Missouri lawmakers and Gov. Mike Kehoe, who had been working on their own package to prevent a second NFL franchise in a decade from leaving their borders. The Rams left St. Louis for Los Angeles in part due to their inability to secure funding to help replace The Dome at America’s Center.
Missouri State Rep. Mark Sharp (D - Jackson County) issued a statement critical of Monday's announcement.
"As a Kansas Citian and a Jackson County resident, my heart goes out to a fan base that remained local through decades of disappointment long before the recent success of the Patrick Mahomes era," Sharp said. "That loyalty built Chiefs Kingdom - and it deserved far better than what has unfolded.
