The Chiefs Are Doing the Weirdest "Relocation" in Pro Sports History
Is it a short commute of a stadium-switch or a full-blown franchise move? Yes.
Last week, Kansas City sports fans — at least, those on the Missouri side of the border — received a lump of coal right before Christmas, as the Chiefs announced plans to depart their longtime home, Arrowhead Stadium, for a new domed stadium in Kansas City, Kansas by 2031.
The move brought an end to the bitter stadium saga that had lasted nearly two years, pitting Missouri and Kansas lawmakers against one another in an interstate bidding war for the team. In April 2024, Jackson County, MO voters rejected a sales-tax extension to help fund renovations at Arrowhead and build a new downtown ballpark for the Royals. As negotiations in Missouri bogged down, Kansas officials stepped in with a more centralized financing package — agreeing to cover up to 70 percent of the cost of the new $3 billion dome through STAR bonds, while Chiefs owner Clark Hunt committed $1 billion of his own money toward the project.
That was ultimately enough to pave the way for the move, which Kansas governor Laura Kelly said will be to a site in Wyandotte County — near Kansas Speedway (which hosts NASCAR and IndyCar races) and Children’s Mercy Park (home of MLS’ Sporting Kansas City).1 In the process, it will also make way for one of the strangest quasi-relocations in pro sports history.
