Travis Kelce speaks out as lawmakers threaten to pull plug on $3billion Chiefs stadium with decision deadline

The Kansas City Chiefs are on the clock.

Two states are fighting to secure the NFL’s most-watched team with a stadium upgrade or a brand-new home.  Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri has hosted the Chiefs since 1972, making it the oldest stadium in the AFC.  The lease is up in 2031 — the same time as the neighboring MLB outfit the Kansas City Royals are free to move out of Kauffman Stadium.

Kansas is desperate to bring the franchises over the border and has tabled a proposal worth around $3billion to build a state-of-the-art dome.  It is a more expensive option than renovating Arrowhead but would open the doors to a Super Bowl heading to the Chiefs’ home — a personal ambition of owner Clark Hunt now that he has won three Lombardi Trophies.  Hunt is now running out of time to make a call.

Kansas House of Representatives speaker Dan Hawkins says the Chiefs and Royals must make up their minds by June 30 or the option will be off the table  “I think if they want to get it done, they’ve still got time to get it done,” he told the Kansas City Star.  Chiefs president Mark Donovan doesn’t think that Hawkins is bluffing.  “Hypothetically, as you’re trying to figure out how to put a deal together, if you’re on either side of the table, you look at deadlines,” he told the Star “That June 30 [deadline] is real.”

Designs for a new domed Kansas City Chiefs stadium district have been shown to lawmakers in Kansas.

The stadium district would be built near the Kansas Speedway—across state lines and about 20 miles from Arrowhead Stadium.

(h/t @fox4kc) pic.twitter.com/Hi8rXo0lgo

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 1, 2024

The Chiefs are also in discussions with Missouri about the level of public money available to fund improvements to Arrowhead.  “Both options are very much in play,” Hunt said via The Athletic. “Really, our timeline is driven more by having enough time to do the renovation work or the construction so that we can be in the new or renovated building in the summer of 2031.  “To really comfortably stay on schedule, it would be best to have some direction by the summer.”

Chiefs icon Travis Kelce is extremely unlikely to be on the roster in 2031 but has a preferred option.  “Arrowhead is home for me,” Kelce commented. “It’s a part of my heart, playing in that stadium.  “But the fans want what the fans want. We play for them. I think it’s up to them.”

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has called a special session of the state legislature on June 2 to review a bill over funding a potential upgrade.  “If Missouri does not put some sort of offer forward, I think the risk is real that they don’t stay here,” Kehoe said.  “If they move out of our state, the significant effect it’s going to have on our state’s economy is massive.  “This isn’t just about football and baseball. This is about economic development. These are two organizations that have businesses, employees, and a ripple effect on our state’s economy that we do not want to move.”

But the bid faces opposition from both sides of the aisle  “I love the Kansas City Chiefs. I’m obnoxious during football season,” state Rep. Darin Chappell, a Republican, recently told KSGF-FM. “But I’ve got constituents trying to pay their rent and feed themselves, and they’re struggling.  “And I’m going to take their money and give it to billionaires so multimillionaires can play in a prettier place? That’s obscene.”  The Chiefs and Royals are both huge draws as competitive teams in their respective leagues.  For now, they can leverage the two states against each other.  A call will have to be made eventually, or money could be taken off the table on both sides of the state line.