NFL owners are on a constant, ongoing quest for lucrative new stadium deals, and owner Clark Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs is no exception,
Hunt sent out earlier smoke signals that he was looking to renovate Arrowhead Stadium, but now he’s pivoting, as the Chiefs put out a request for proposals to design a new stadium on the Kansas side of the state line, according to a story written by Morgan Chilson of the Salina Post.
The stadium would be built on land near the Kansas Speedway, with the news first reported by a pair of local talk show hosts from KCMO talk radio. One of them, Pete Mundo, indicated that his “gut” said the Chiefs would be staying in Missouri.
Gut feelings aside, the key element of this situation is the NASCAR connection involving the land.
“NASCAR owns a total of 880 acres of land at Village West, folks,” said Kevin Kietzman in his podcast. “They only use 300 of them.”
The state’s potential involvement in all this is another matter entirely, however.
“Kansas Department of Commerce continues to conduct a careful analysis of costs and benefits as part of crafting agreements to keep the Chiefs and Royals in the region while maximizing growth opportunities for Kansas,” said Patrick Lowry, who is a spokesman for the department.
The name of the game that’s being played here is called “leverage.” Missouri lawmakers are hoping to convince both the Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals to stay on their side of the state line, authorizing bonds covering up to 50 percent of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, plus another $50 million in tax credits for each stadium along with unspecified aid from local governments.
“Follow the money” is the adage that’s in play for the Chiefs. Hunt recently told reporters that he and his family were still considering opportunities in both states, and the deal that gets made will almost certainly be the most lucrative one.
“I wouldn’t say we’re in limbo. Stadium projects move at their own pace,” Hunt said. “We’ve learned over the years that you can’t really force them to go faster, even if you want them to. And so it’s just important for us to keep working on both options.”
Another key for Hunt is to strike while the iron is hot. It’s a lot easier to jack up the public cost of a stadium deal as long as the combination of coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes is in place, but at the moment there’s no need to turn up the heat on either state, so the Chiefs won’t be going anywhere in the next couple of years.