The Chiefs have "not engaged" in talks to potentially move across state lines into KansasGetty Images
The Chiefs are “quietly evaluating the need to pursue alternatives outside Jackson County” for a potential new stadium as their push to negotiate a renewal of a county-wide sales tax has “failed to launch substantive conversations” about renovations to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, according to sources cited by Sam McDowell of the K.C. STAR. Sources said that the Chiefs have “not engaged in serious conversations with outside parties about a move across the state line” into Kansas. But McDowell noted that “doesn’t mean they won’t.” To help fund a stadium renovation, the Chiefs have “sought a 25-year renewal of the 3/8th-cent sales tax” passed in 2006, with “no significant additions to the long-standing lease.” That is the “path they are attempting to navigate, with a conclusion that would keep them at Arrowhead, a fan-favorite, for the next quarter-century.” But sources said that it is “evident to many” that Jackson County Exec Frank White “does not believe the current lease agreement benefits Jackson County, which funds and manages the facilities but does not receive direct revenue from the stadiums.” McDowell noted White is “positioned at the center of this saga” as the county executive who “just so happens to be a member of the Royals Hall of Fame.” But sources said that his “lack of eagerness to extend the status quo is not an isolated view within the county.” He has “at least some support from the legislature,” though there are “varying opinions about the reach and depth of that support.” That uncertainty “compels the Chiefs to at least evaluate the possibilities of options outside Jackson County” (K.C. STAR, 12/2).
