Dallas mayor Eric Johnson seems determined to bring the Chiefs home.
The franchise started as the AFL’s Dallas Texans, before surrendering the city to the NFL’s Cowboys and moving to Kansas City in 1963.
On the heels of the landslide decision by Jackson County, Missouri voters to reject the extension of a sales tax to help pay for the renovation of Arrowhead Stadium, Johnson is openly courting the Chiefs back to Dallas.
Via Lukas Weese of TheAthletic.com, Johnson called it a “serious opportunity” for the Chiefs to solve their stadium situation.
“The connections are so deep, the history is so rich,” Johnson said. “We actually could put together the deals that would make sense for them to get them here.”
Johnson declined to say whether he has spoken to Chiefs owner Clark Hunt about a possible relocation to Dallas.
“I’m not really at liberty to say other than I have a good open line of communication with Clark Hunt,” Johnson said. “And that line of communication remains.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones surely wouldn’t want another team in the area, especially if it wouldn’t be playing in his stadium. Johnson seems to be optimistic that Dallas will eventually be deemed big enough for two teams.
“When the NFL looks at the next round of expansion, they will not find an American city where there is not an NFL franchise currently that will be a more lucrative or faster-growing market to put a team,” Johnson said.
Johnson made a separate case for sharing the market, one that will cater to Jones’s ego.
“You never say never because he’s a businessman and he’s in the business of making money,” Johnson said. “There is a strong argument to make that the Cowboys’ franchise value is not tied to the city it plays in or is connected with. It’s an international phenomenon at this point.”
He’s right. The Dallas Cowboys will continue to draw massive crowds and TV audiences regardless of whether Dallas has two or 20 teams.
If/when the NFL grows and/or reshuffles, it’s fair to evaluate current markets for the potential addition of a team. Chicago and Dallas would seem to be the most likely candidates.
The Chiefs’ lease runs through 2030. Which gives Kansas City and surrounding areas plenty of time to come up with a way to keep the Chiefs local. If that can’t happen, it’s fair to wonder where the Chiefs could otherwise go. Dallas should at least be on the radar screen of possibilities until the Chiefs have a clear answer to their sudden stadium uncertainty.
