|
|
12/22/25 04:29:00
Printable Page
12/22 16:27 CST Chiefs' move to Kansas leaves Missouri fans heartbroken over
another NFL franchise leaving
Chiefs' move to Kansas leaves Missouri fans heartbroken over another NFL
franchise leaving
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --- The state of Missouri is losing its third NFL
franchise and the second in the past decade, and the decision by the Chiefs on
Monday to depart their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium for a new domed
facility in Kansas may hurt the most.
The Chiefs announced their intention to move after Kansas lawmakers approved a
bond package earlier in the day to help pay for the new facility. It will be
built near Kansas Speedway and a retail district known as The Legends in Kansas
City, Kansas --- only about 30 miles from Arrowhead Stadium, but a distance
that has perhaps never felt so far.
"Years ago as a kid, my family was homeless for a while and we lived in a motel
not too far from the stadium," said Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City,
Missouri, shortly after the team's announcement. "I knew we struggled, but I
believed nothing was cooler than living within a stones' throw of what I
thought then and today is the greatest stadium in football.
"Like a lot of parents in Chiefs Kingdom, my single mother scraped some money
together to get me to Arrowhead for my first game --- 300-level upper deck for
a 30-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills in 1993. I've been hooked ever
since."
Missouri lawmakers had been desperately trying to keep the Chiefs with their
own funding package. They held a special legislative session in June backed by
Gov. Mike Kehoe that authorized bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or
renovated stadiums, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and
unspecified aid from local governments.
Lucas also had been working with local lawmakers in recent days on a
counter-proposal to keep the Chiefs in Missouri.
"We understand our very fair but very responsible financial offer of taxpayer
support was surpassed by an even more robust public financing package in
Kansas," he said. "The Chiefs have a business to run and today made a business
decision. We wish them well."
The previous two NFL teams to leave Missouri were in St. Louis. The Cardinals,
who came from Chicago in 1960, left for the Phoenix area in 1988 and now play
in a state-of-the-art stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Rams arrived from
Anaheim, California, in 1995, then headed to Los Angeles in part because of
their inability to secure funding to replace The Dome at America's Center.
The Rams recently built SoFi Stadium in the suburb of Inglewood, California, at
a cost of more than $5 billion.
Other professional sports franchises to jilt Missouri include the Athletics of
Major League Baseball, who left Kansas City for Oakland, California, following
the 1967 season; the Kings of the National Basketball Association, who moved to
Sacramento, California, in 1985; and the Kansas City Scouts of the National
Hockey League, who eventually became the Colorado Rockies.
Sporting Kansas City, a club in Major League Soccer, once called Arrowhead
Stadium home. It now plays its games on the Kansas side of the state line at
Children's Mercy Park, close to where the Chiefs are expected to build their
new stadium.
"I feel like Kansas won the Super Bowl," said Ty Masterson, the president of
the Kansas senate.
The Chiefs and Kansas City Royals have played for more than five decades at the
Truman Sports Complex, where Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums sit a couple of
hundred yards apart. Both are revered, the NFL stadium for its tailgating
experience and loud home-field advantage, and the Major League Baseball stadium
for its picturesque backdrop of glittering outfield fountains.
Both teams have had plenty of recent success there, too.
The Chiefs, who at 6-9 have been eliminated from playoff contention this
season, had appeared in the past three Super Bowls and the previous seven
conference title games. They have some of the biggest stars in the game,
including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has led the Chiefs to three Super
Bowl titles in five trips to the big game.
The Royals, who won their second World Series in 2015, returned to the playoffs
following the 2024 season. They are led by Bobby Witt Jr., one of the bright
young stars of the game, and are coming off a second consecutive winning season.
One of the prevailing questions now is whether the Royals will follow the
Chiefs across the Kansas-Missouri line.
The Royals insist they will not play at Kauffman Stadium beyond the 2031
season, and their preference has been to build a new downtown ballpark. But a
sales tax extension that would have paid for an $800 million renovation of
Arrowhead Stadium and a new home for the Royals was soundly defeated last year
by voters in Jackson County, Missouri, leaving both to look elsewhere.
Through an affiliate, the Royals have purchased the mortgage for a tract of
land in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas.
The announcement of the Chiefs' moving to Kansas generated widespread reaction
among fans. Some were concerned about the price of tickets in a new facility,
others about traffic flow and construction, and still others about the legacy
of Arrowhead Stadium.
"I don't think it is the greatest idea," said Dustin Allen, who lives in Blue
Springs, Missouri, and was visiting Union State in downtown Kansas City,
Missouri, on Monday. "I think that where they have is a very nice spot. I will
say that the traffic over there is always fun. I think it's nice to have them
downtown in some way, shape or form."
Mike Robinson, a season ticket-holder from Kansas City, Kansas, was visiting a
science museum inside the train station with his son.
"I'm pretty sure prices will go up," he said. "That's what I'm concerned about.
A brand new stadium. Season ticket holders may not be able to keep up with
their tickets with the rising prices. That's what I'm worried about."
___
Associated Press writers John Hanna, David Lieb and Heather Hollingsworth
contributed.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
|
