Why Chiefs are moving from Arrowhead. Where will they go? Explained

The Chiefs weigh relocation from Arrowhead across the state line as Topeka, Kansas, lures the team with a major stadium financing offer

Updated on: Dec 20, 2025, 24:59:50 IST

By Shirin Gupta

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The Kansas City Chiefs are weighing options to leave their historic home at Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri and relocate to a new, state-of-the-art stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, AP reported.

The Kansas City Chiefs are contemplating relocation from their home stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, in Kansas City, Missouri. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JAMIE SQUIRE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) (Getty Images via AFP)

The franchise leadership is currently exploring lucrative public-financing incentives and long-term venue opportunities.

The move is not yet official, but a key meeting in Topeka, Kansas, scheduled this week is expected to be pivotal in determining whether Kansas lawmakers approve STAR bonds. The bonds are projected to fund up to 70 per cent of a new stadium project, tipping the scales toward a Kansas relocation.

Stadium financing and Star bonds proposal

The Chiefs have been engaged in a years-long search for a long-term stadium solution. Their current lease at the Truman Sports Complex in Missouri is set to expire in January 2031.

In 2024, Jackson County voters rejected an earlier plan to use a local sales-tax extension to fund significant Arrowhead improvements and a new Kansas City Royals ballpark.

The rejection made way for the Kansas lawmakers, who then seized the opportunity, authorising STAR bonds to cover up to 70 per cent of the cost of a new domed stadium near The Legends commercial area in Kansas City.

The Kansas Department of Commerce issued a statement saying the state is in active discussions with the Chiefs about building a new stadium and related facilities in Kansas. The department added, “No final agreement has been reached, but this would be a massive economic win for Kansas and benefit Kansans for generations to come.”

Missouri's counteroffers and continued negotiations

Missouri officials are still chasing a win. The lawmakers in Missouri have authorised a financing package aimed at keeping the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in the state by covering up to 50 per cent of stadium costs.

Reporting by the Sports Business Journal states that the Missouri incentive package would allow teams to issue bonds backed by state tax revenues that would help position the state as a competing bidder to Kansas’s larger STAR bond offer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Gupta
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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