The Chiefs threatened the team could leave Kansas City if a sales tax extension for a renovated Arrowhead Stadium didn’t pass earlier this month. It didn’t, creating uncertainty about the team’s future in the city.
Dallas mayor Eric Johnson has jumped all over Kansas City’s conundrum, using it for his political gain by recruiting the Chiefs.
Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas responded on social media recently, declaring the Chiefs aren’t going anywhere.
“I hear rumors, including even from the Mayor of Dallas,” Lucas wrote. “Kansas City, don’t believe the noise. We are committed to retention of our teams with vastly lower expenses--think needed infrastructure build out--than even an intra-metro move. Both teams will be in KCMO in 2040 and long after.”
The Chiefs’ lease at Arrowhead Stadium expires after the 2030 season.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt lives in Dallas, and the franchise was founded by his father, Lamar, in Dallas in 1959. The Texans played three seasons in Dallas in the American Football League, winning the championship in 1962, before moving to Kansas City.
But the Cowboys have played in the suburbs since 1971, because Dallas wouldn’t pony up public money to help build a stadium for the team. And the Cotton Bowl is not suited to be a permanent NFL stadium even with millions in renovations.
