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After a long time in Missouri, the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs are formally saying goodbye to Arrowhead Stadium.
The workforce introduced on Wednesday that they are going to relocate throughout state strains to Kansas, confirming plans for a large $4 billion stadium and mixed-use growth challenge. Chiefs proprietor Clark Hunt revealed the information throughout a press convention alongside Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, Lieutenant Governor David Toland, and different state leaders, following approval from the Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council.
The Chiefs’ lease at Arrowhead Stadium expires after the 2030 NFL season, with the brand new stadium slated to open in time for the 2031 season. The state of Kansas will cowl roughly 60 % of the challenge’s price by means of STAR bonds—making it some of the publicly funded stadium offers in NFL historical past.
The brand new stadium shall be in-built Wyandotte County, close to Kansas Speedway and Sporting Kansas Metropolis’s dwelling stadium, on the intersection of Interstates 70 and 435. Whereas the Chiefs personal a number of plots of land within the space, the precise website has not but been finalized. The workforce can be nonetheless within the strategy of hiring an architect, which explains why no renderings have been launched alongside the announcement.
Along with the stadium, the deal features a separate coaching facility and workforce headquarters surrounded by mixed-use growth in Johnson County. The idea mirrors profitable NFL hubs just like the Dallas Cowboys’ Star in Frisco and the Minnesota Vikings’ Viking Lakes advanced.
The Chiefs had beforehand explored a $1.15 billion renovation of Arrowhead Stadium, a beloved venue that opened in 1972. Nevertheless, Kansas’ funding supply—and the chance to construct a completely new, fashionable NFL campus from scratch—in the end swayed the Hunt household.
This marks the Chiefs’ first transfer out of Missouri since Lamar Hunt relocated the franchise from Dallas to Kansas Metropolis in 1963. Whereas the workforce will nonetheless carry the Kansas Metropolis title, the transfer locations them simply over the state line and makes them the most recent NFL franchise to make an intramarket relocation, following groups just like the Cowboys and Commanders.
The choice comes after years of uncertainty surrounding the Chiefs’ future. In April 2024, the Chiefs and Kansas Metropolis Royals collectively pursued public funding by means of a countywide referendum that proposed a brand new baseball stadium and a significant Arrowhead renovation. Voters in the end rejected the measure, forcing each groups again to the drafting board.
This time, the Chiefs went it alone—and secured their future. The Royals, in the meantime, are nonetheless trying to find a long-term stadium resolution.
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