McDowell: Why The Chiefs Pursuit to Renovate Arrowhead Has Hit A Snag

[tk13]

We've been talking about this for a few weeks over in the Royals thread. It's been interesting to see how quiet the Chiefs have been while the Royals negotiate for a new stadium, and in the last couple weeks there's more and more smoke that the Chiefs and Royals staying in Jackson County is not a sure thing. Sam McDowell finally wrote about it. It's a very long column so I just picked some highlights. It's a good breakdown of the situation. It sounds like Kansas hasn't made any serious offers but they're the obvious alternative if Jackson County decides to punt, and it sounds like the Royals and Chiefs want answers soon.

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/sp...282553078.html

The Chiefs are quietly evaluating the need to pursue alternatives outside Jackson County as their push to negotiate a renewal of a county-wide sales tax has failed to launch substantive conversations, multiple sources told The Star. Well, it was quietly. You’re probably aware of the recent rhetoric, including from some local politicians, implying that the Chiefs already have one foot out the door — and are strutting toward Kansas, no less. That gasoline-on-the-fire message follows a worst-case-scenario playbook, not to mention a Kansas City tactic of pitting two states against each other for its prized assets. But this doesn’t paint an entirely accurate picture. The Chiefs have not engaged in serious conversations with outside parties about a move across the state line, sources told me, a sentiment confirmed to The Star’s Katie Bernard by Brianna Johnson, a spokeswoman for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly. That doesn’t mean they won’t.

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The Royals started and initially drove the stadium conversation, not only publicly, but behind the scenes too. The Chiefs weren’t completely silent observers, but they appeared content to allow the Royals to negotiate a new lease with Jackson County and county executive Frank White, and then follow with what would ideally be a smoother and quicker conversation.

The latter has just simply not been the case. The former, waiting on the conclusion of Royals’ negotiations, has since changed. What’s been lost along the way is that the Chiefs, too, are interested in an April 2024 ballot measure, for reasons I’ll cover here. And as a Jan. 23 deadline to secure that ballot measure has neared, they ignited their own talks, separate from the Royals, earlier this fall. “We have met with Frank and the county attorneys in an introductory meeting,” Chiefs team president Mark Donovan said in a statement. “We shared that we would like to focus on extending the current 3/8th-cent sales tax. This partnership has served us well for over 50 years, and we look forward to working with them to enhance the amazing community asset that GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium has become.” Where do those talks stand now? “We have not heard back from the county,” Donovan said.

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The Chiefs have sought a 25-year renewal of the 3/8th-cent sales tax passed in 2006, as Donovan’s statement said, with no significant additions to the long-standing lease. That’s the path they are attempting to navigate, with a conclusion that would keep them at Arrowhead, a fan-favorite, for the next quarter-century. But in my discussions with an array of politicos, it’s evident to many that White does not believe the current lease agreement benefits Jackson County, which funds and manages the facilities but does not receive direct revenue from the stadiums. The deal is more complicated than the tax — for example, no one has raised a hand to pay for demolition of Kauffman Stadium if the Royals move, an expense that would total tens of millions of dollars.

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White is positioned at the center of this saga as the county executive who just so happens to be a member of the Royals Hall of Fame. But his lack of eagerness to extend the status quo is not an isolated view within the county, sources said. He has at least some support from the legislature, though there are varying opinions about the reach and depth of that support. And therefore it’s notable that others within the county government want to create a path for the Chiefs to circumvent White by securing backing from a majority of the legislators to extend the sales tax. There is doubt, however, about whether they would have enough support to override a potential veto from White, if it were to come to that.

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The Royals, who have had more frequent meetings with the county, have stated their preference to play downtown baseball sooner rather than later. Their recent focus has primarily been analyzing the logistics of the former Kansas City Star press building along the south loop, and they have started the process of creating renderings for the site, sources said. They’ve also publicly stated their target of an April ballot measure, which comes with that rapidly approaching Jan. 23 deadline. It’s a deadline that the Chiefs are targeting, too — with a more concrete plan, at least to date. I’ll put this out there before I continue: In the course of speaking with several people for this column, there are overwhelmingly more who classify an April ballot measure as a long-shot than those who expect the county and teams to reach an agreement before the mid-January date.

Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/sports/sp...#storylink=cpy

[Kiimo]

Arrowhead is a pretty generic stadium for its time. What makes Arrowhead special is the population of Kansas City and the tailgating. If you maintain both of those, who cares?

In fact getting it out of methtown is just fine with me. Not that I live in either state.

[Stewie]

I got a text from scoop and score today about this issue. I never get texts on that cell # but there it was.

[TribalElder]

If they move to Kansas they will lose all of their power like a sampson haircut

[notorious]

The NFL only let the Chiefs win 3 Superbowls because they needed momentum to build a new stadium. /tinfoil hat dude

[ChiliConCarnage]

Originally Posted by Stewie

I got a text from scoop and score today about this issue. I never get texts on that cell # but there it was.

I got one too. Annoying.

[FloridaMan88]

Originally Posted by louie aguiar

Having a dome would put us in the running for a Super Bowl, a final four and an annual bowl game

Putting aside the nostalgia bias to keep Arrowhead… building a dome is the better long term option.

In terms of crowd noise/atmosphere… seemingly half of Arrowhead empties out into the enclosed areas of the stadium, especially in the club level, during inclement weather.

As far as “not messing with success”… there was not much success for the Chiefs at Arrowhead before Mahomes.

Go with the head… not the heart… and build that dome.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by louie aguiar

Having a dome would put us in the running for a Super Bowl, a final four and an annual bowl game

The Homefield advantage is greatly diminished and I'll point to the Miami playoff game as an example.

[Discuss Thrower]

Q'ing myself here, but if Chiefs moniker is going bye-bye if they leave Arrowhead.

A dome will remove any sort of remaining home field advantage (noise + elements) and turn it into a complete wine and cheese, sterile as a doctor's exam table, snooze fest.

And no number of on-site hotels built on to a stadium complex will bring a Super Bowl to the metro. Get ****ing real people.

[POND_OF_RED]

Originally Posted by Kiimo

Arrowhead is a pretty generic stadium for its time. What makes Arrowhead special is the population of Kansas City and the tailgating. If you maintain both of those, who cares?

In fact getting it out of methtown is just fine with me. Not that I live in either state.

It’s also impossible to replicate with new building codes. We’ll lose at least 10 DB’s just from the architecture of the stadium alone. They won’t be able to put as many seats over the top of each other with the handicap regulations they would have to follow therefore it wouldn’t trap all the sound in like Arrowhead does.

Also, what about those renderings makes you think tailgating will stay the same? It’s clear a new stadium will have an entertainment district that the Chiefs will be wanting everyone to use instead.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Q'ing myself here, but if Chiefs moniker is going bye-bye if they leave Arrowhead.

A dome will remove any sort of remaining home field advantage (noise + elements) and turn it into a complete wine and cheese, sterile as a doctor's exam table, snooze fest.

And no number of on-site hotels built on to a stadium complex will bring a Super Bowl to the metro. Get ****ing real people.

How would the dome remove noise? And elements are an overrated "advantage".

And the NFL has given every new stadium a Superbowl so yes the Superbowl would come if a new domed stadium is built

[louie aguiar]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

The Homefield advantage is greatly diminished and I'll point to the Miami playoff game as an example.

The arrowhead home field advantage is largely a myth. Since 2018 the chiefs have a better record on the road (77.6 winning %) than at home (74.0 winning %).

[KCUnited]

Home field advantage is an antiquated shit QB team concept

Only thing missing for the Clarks is hosting the SB

That said I’d season ticket hold at an Allegiant type dome which I’m sure architects will only improve upon

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by louie aguiar

The arrowhead home field advantage is largely a myth. Since 2018 the chiefs have a better record on the road (77.6 winning %) than at home (74.0 winning %).

If it's a myth then why is it valued greatly because it's beyond analytics because of uniformity of the team's schedule and adaptation to different climates and atmosphere

[Pauly D]

Only way Missouri competes with Kansas IMO is if they offer a site which isn't TSC. The area is a dump and the KS state rep repeatedly mocked it today on 810. It's not going to help MO keep the team in the slightest at this point. Chiefs even have told MO they don't feel comfortable with a hotel or an amphitheater on the TSC site.

[New World Order]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Q'ing myself here, but if Chiefs moniker is going bye-bye if they leave Arrowhead.

A dome will remove any sort of remaining home field advantage (noise + elements) and turn it into a complete wine and cheese, sterile as a doctor's exam table, snooze fest.

And no number of on-site hotels built on to a stadium complex will bring a Super Bowl to the metro. Get ****ing real people.

Let's just hope the new stadium arrives when Mahomes is close to retiring and we've already locked up at least 6 superbowls during his run.