Chiefs Doing Their Homework Before Deciding On Move

The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t moving from Arrowhead Stadium — at least not anytime soon.

At the NFL owners meeting in Florida last month, the idea of the Chiefs moving from Missouri to Kansas was raised, but at Kansas City’s Downtown Council annual luncheon, team president Mark Donovan said no decision has been made and asked for patience.

The Chiefs’ lease at Arrowhead expires in 2031, and the team is funding a $500,000 study to better understand the current state of the stadium.

“Then, once we’ve got that study, what could be added to this building to take it 50 more years?” Donavan said.  The Cincinnati Bengals recently commissioned a similar study for $375,000, which found that renovations would cost $493 million over the next two decades.

Open to All Options

There are three options on the table for the team, which include staying at Arrowhead, moving somewhere new, or building a new stadium near the current one.

• The latter would be possible if the Kansas City Royals, who share Truman Sports Complex with the NFL team, move from Kauffman Stadium. Their lease is also up in 2031.
• The Royals have reportedly been eyeing a downtown stadium for years, and Donovan voiced his personal support of the team’s potential move on Friday: “Baseball downtown is where it belongs.”

Kansas City has called Arrowhead home since 1972 when its $43 million construction finished. Since then, a $375 million renovation was completed in 2010 along with several other smaller projects since.