The Chiefs continue to move toward an inevitable decision between renovating Arrowhead Stadium and building a new stadium.
On Monday, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt addressed the status of the team’s effort to achieve a long-term solution.
The comments came in the context of the recent ouster of Jackson County, Missouri, executive Frank White via a recall election. White was replaced by Phil LeVota.
“We have had some preliminary conversations with [LeVota],” Hunt said, via KMBC.com. “He obviously has a lot of things on his plate, but he expressed eagerness to work with us, and we expect to expand those conversations in the coming weeks.”
The threshold question continues to be renovation vs. new construction, with the likely destination being the other side of the Missouri-Kansas border.
“We’re still working on both the renovation of GEHA Field at Arrowhead, as well as the possibility of building a new stadium somewhere in the metropolitan area,” Hunt said.
Hunt’s comments also pointed to the apparent necessity of a new ballot measure in Jackson County to fund the project at Arrowhead.
“So if we pursued the renovation option there, there’s a chance that we would be on a ballot next year,” Hunt said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be April, and we haven’t gotten that specific in terms of timing at this point.”
That’s significant, given the colossal failure of a Jackson County ballot measure in April 2024. Even though the Chiefs (and Royals) were hoping to secure the extension of an existing sales tax, the electorate’s answer was a resounding no.
In the end, then, the Chiefs may not have to make a decision. If Jackson County voters once again refuse to fund the renovation with taxpayer money, a new stadium in Kansas becomes the only option.