It’s the old familiar feeling; the crock of a pattern being losing its third NFL franchise and the second in the past decade. The Kansas City Chiefs are gearing up to leave their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium, Missouri by 2031, and opt for a new domed facility in Kansas instead. As much as the decision hurts the fans the most, a little clarity can be illuminating, and owner Clark Hunt is providing exactly that.

“We knew that we had to do something in terms of either renovating Arrowhead or building a new stadium because our lease is up in five years,” the owner said via 96.5 The Fan’s post when asked when exactly he knew he had to move to stay competitive. “So we just hit that sort of natural timeline. The lead time you need to design and build a stadium is five years. So we were really up against the wall in terms of needing to make a decision.”

This comes after the team was in active discussions with Missouri lawmakers for over two years regarding stadium funding, but failed to reach a common ground.

The most stunning fall-through came in April last year when Jackson County was unable to deliver the now-infamous 3/8-cent sales tax, designed to be a 40-year extension of an existing tax to help with Arrowhead renovations. On that occasion, 58% of voters had opposed the stadium sales tax ordinance, a clear signal for the Hunt family to start looking elsewhere.

Taking advantage of the widening rift, Kansas officials passed a STAR Bond bill in mid-June, a way for lawmakers to pay for the stadium by using money generated from it in the future.

Just to put things into perspective: It took Kansas less than 90 days to approve the STAR Bond bill for the Chiefs, as opposed to the State of Missouri taking over a staggering 400 days for a stadium package to be approved. Even Clark Hunt admitted the hurdles.

“The big difference is we were working with one party here, the State of Kansas, and in Missouri, we were working with the governor’s office, the county, and also the city,” he said, per KMBC. “We just didn’t get there for the timeline.”

This is especially telling coming from a man who never wanted to leave Arrowhead in the first place.

“Of course, it will be difficult to bid farewell to Arrowhead Stadium in a few years,” Hunt said in an open letter to fans after the official announcement. “Like so many of you, Arrowhead reminds me of family memories and unforgettable moments.”

But it’s not like Missouri wasn’t desperate enough to try to make things work. It’s just that Kansas’ offers were too good to ignore in the end.

Just in June this year, Jackson County lawmakers held a special legislative session backed by Gov. Mike Kehow to authorize bonds to cover up to 50% (or an estimated $1.5 billion) for renovations or a new stadium. It also included $50 million in tax credits and unspecified aid from local governments.

Their neighbours, on the contrary, allowed sales tax and revenue (STAR) bonds that are set to cover 70% (around $2.4 billion that will be paid off with liquor tax revenues) of the cost of the stadium and mixed-use districts. This also signifies one other thing: Clark Hunt will finally be able to fulfill his father’s long-lost dream.

The Chiefs’ lease on the Kansas City Stadium, its home since 1972, expires after the 2030 season. The move to Kansas is expected to become a home ground for many exciting things, hosting a Super Bowl being one of them.

With Arrowhead having an open-air infrastructure and experiencing freezing temperatures, a dome is most certainly on the list of requirements for the new stadium for hosting the final event of the season.

“We’ve not made a decision on whether it’ll be retractable or not,” Hunt told 96.5 The Fan. “We’ll get into the design work pretty quickly.”

Apart from this, the new venue will provide an opportunity to host the College Football Playoffs and the NCAA Final Fours. And much more…

Kansas geared up for sweeping changes with Clark Hunt at the helm

Clark Hunt’s team has secured a massive deal that includes more than a billion dollars in public funding. The $3.3 billion plan involves building a domed stadium along with an entertainment district, headquarters, and a training facility. However, the stadium will require only around $3 billion, according to the Kansas Reflector. The state of Kansas would cover its portion by issuing STAR bonds. So, what’s the final structure of the deal? 

“So it’s a public private partnership, like most stadium deals are,” he explained. “And the state of Kansas will be paying for 60%. And our family will be paying for 40%.”

According to the CEO, the upcoming practice and training facility in Olathe will require $300 million. Meanwhile, the development of a mixed-use district could cost $700 million across Wyandotte County and Olathe. Notably, the state has agreed to pay $1.8 billion of the total $2.4 billion funding package within 90 days of the contract being signed.

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The Chiefs are looking forward to the mixed-use districts around both the stadium and practice facility. The space will go beyond the sport, offering entertainment, dining, and year-round activity. In Hunt’s view, this development is essential as modern sports teams need more than just a stadium to stay competitive. He highlighted that flourishing areas around the stadium have become a major trend across professional sports.

It helps franchises financially and improves the overall fan experience. Clark Hunt believes these surrounding projects will make game days more exciting and keep his team on pace with the rest of the NFL.

Meanwhile, Missouri will be left to rue its past and present—a 1988 move by the Cardinals, a St. Louis Rams move to Los Angeles in 2016, and now the most popular franchise in the league moving elsewhere.