In early April the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals were issued a harsh rebuke.
By a surprisingly large margin of 58% to 42%, voters in Jackson County, Mo. voted against the 3/8 cent sales tax to help fund the Royals’ move to the East Crossroads district and the Chiefs’ renovations at their existing GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
“We’re definitely disappointed with how the stadium vote turned out,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. “It was something we had worked on for several years.”
The Chiefs now have had three-plus weeks to assess the next steps.
Although plans are still very much up in the air, Hunt revealed that they will not combine efforts with the Royals on the next stadium project.
“At this point it makes sense for both of us to work independently,” Hunt said. “The Royals are going to be looking at options that may not include the sports complex, and we’ll be doing the same thing. I really think at this point it makes sense for us to go our separate ways.”
Hunt said the two worked together initially because they have spent 50-plus years as Truman Sports Complex neighbors, and there is still a current 3/8 cent tax to jointly fund both teams’ stadiums. (The vote earlier this month was on whether to extend that tax.)
Moving forward separately was agreed upon by both teams, but it especially makes sense for the Chiefs.
One insider thought the tax would have passed if it was only for the Chiefs’ renovation. Some taxpayers were reluctant to support the Royals’ plan that was the larger part of the multi-billion dollar pie and didn’t offer enough specifics on how to revitalize downtown.
The Chiefs not only had the momentum as back-to-back Super Bowl champions, but the renovations to GEHA Field were explicitly outlined and slated to cost only $800 million, and the Hunt family was going pay for $300 million of that.
The proposed renovations included a turf-covered activation zone designed for gameday tailgates and outdoor stage shows, new parking structures, pedestrian bridges, additional suites, end-zone clubs, larger video boards, an upper concourse canopy, 170 new toilets and more than 120 food and beverage concessions.
But without the tax to fund those improvements, Hunt indicated all options are on the table, including building a new stadium at a new location.
“We’ll look at everything that we did from a design standpoint from the last couple of years to see if it can be enhanced,” Hunt said. “But we may be in a situation where we are looking at a new stadium as well.”
With six-and-a-half years left on their current stadium lease, the Chiefs need to quickly proceed on a new plan.
“I do feel very much a sense of urgency,” Hunt said. “We’re going to have to work very hard over the next year, year and a half.”
A new venue in Kansas City, Kan. has been rumored, but Hunt has not spoken to any Kansas government officials about moving the Chiefs there.
Hunt, who often notes that Arrowhead Stadium was his father’s favorite place on the planet, reiterated that there’s still a definite chance the Chiefs could remain at Arrowhead.
“I really can’t speculate on how any of that is going to turn out. GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium is a special place for our family and our fanbase. That was one of the reasons we focused on it with the last effort,” Hunt said. “I believe it could be a special place for our fanbase for another 25 years with the right renovation. But we’re just going to have to be open-minded in how we approach this.”