By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
It is a border battle like no other.
Missouri and Kansas have made their pitch for either renovating Arrowhead Stadium or building a new stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas made its offer early, an attempt to lure the Chiefs over the state line. Missouri countered with the legislature approving a package during the special session in June.
Kansas City Chiefs President, Mark Donovan, says team officials continue to pore over offers from both states as they consider where the team will play in the future.
Donovan declines to indicate whether one state has the edge over the other.
“As I said before, I’ll say it again, the commitment on both sides has been really, really humbling,” Donovan tells reporters during the opening of Training Camp at Missouri Western State University. “There’s a real interest to figure this out on both sides of the state line and that gives us a great opportunity to figure out what is best for our fans and for the organization.”
The Chiefs conducted a survey of fans in the team’s effort to decide its future. Donovan says three survey results stood out. Fans take pride in how loud it gets at Arrowhead and want to retain the arguably loudest stadium in the NFL. Fans like their tailgates and whether the Chiefs renovate Arrowhead or move to a new stadium, fans want the Chiefs to provide plenty of room for tailgating. Donovan says the third response that rose to the top was humbling to the organization. He says fans said they trusted the Chiefs to do the right thing.
Much hinges on what the Royals decide to do. The Chiefs and the Royals are neighbors, sharing room in the Truman Sports Complex which opened in 1972. If the Royals leave Kauffman Stadium as expected, that creates a different dynamic for the Chiefs, according to Donovan. The NFL franchise could then spread out to take over the entire complex. Donovan does add that if the Royals cross the state line and relocate in the Kansas side of the Kansas City metroplex, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Chiefs will move to Kansas. Previously, the future of the two teams seemed linked. They are separate now.
Donovan says his team is scrutinizing every paragraph, every word in the offers from both states.
“It’s the detail of those deals. What deal makes the most sense from a business perspective, for a future perspective. And I think it’s important to point this out – what makes the most sense for our fans for the next generation, right?” Donovan says. “There are a lot of really strong arguments on both sides, but we have to make that decision, what we believe makes the best impact on our fans for the next generation.”
Donovan emphasizes the decision on where the Chiefs call home has no impact on whether the Chiefs continue to hold training camp in St. Joseph. Missouri Western State University announced just prior to the beginning of this year’s camp that the university had reached a multi-year extension with the Chiefs.
But will the Chiefs stay in St. Joseph in the future?
Donovan says much like the team’s decision on whether to renovate Arrowhead or build new, it all depends.
“Look, we don’t want to leave, but we may find a better option in the future and decide to do that,” Donovan says. “It’s kind of what we’re doing with the stadium right now. We may and we may not.”
Donovan says when the Chiefs began holding training camp in St. Joseph in 2010, no one could have guessed the impact it would have on the city.
“And you look at it today, 15 years in, it’s measurable and it’s exceeded everyone’s expectations and we’re proud of that,” Donovan says. “But we also believe that’s what we bring to the table. We can bring something that can change, have impact. And, if you look at the history of this, we’ve done that.”
The Chiefs moved training camp from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. Before that, the Chiefs held training camp at William Jewel College in Liberty.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ
