A relocation of the Kansas City Chiefs seems increasingly realistic. However, the Missouri government wants to prevent the departure of the sporting figurehead with a new plan

The future of the Kansas City Chiefs and the MLB team Kansas City Royals in the state of Missouri is currently hanging by a thread. After the people of Missouri rejected a proportional use of tax funds to build new stadiums for both teams in April, the neighboring state of Kansas sees its chance.

But Missouri is not yet admitting defeat. “We’re going to make sure we get the best deal possible,” said Governor Mike Parson. According to him, the government is already working on an alternative plan to prevent the two teams from parting ways. He did not give any details.

The Chiefs are contractually bound to Arrowhead Stadium until 2031, while the Royals have already announced that they do not want to play in the current stadium beyond the 2030 season.

The original plans were to renovate Arrowhead Stadium at a cost of 800 million dollars. The Royals were even supposed to get a completely new stadium in the city center for two billion dollars. The project was to be financed by a new tax law to replace an existing one. However, 58 percent of the population voted against it.

In the meantime, Kansas has already positioned itself and given the green light to enter the planning phase for the construction of the new stadiums. “The state is ready to become a leader in professional sports,” said Governor Laura Kelly.

Parson takes it sportingly. “I can’t blame them for trying,” he said, referring to the neighboring state’s efforts, explaining, “If I were in that position, I’d probably do the same thing. But we will be competitive.”

However, Parson himself will probably no longer have a say in the project. His term of office as governor ends in January 2025 and he has announced that he will not call a special meeting of the government on the issue before then. It therefore remains to be seen how much his successor is prepared to invest in keeping the teams in place