What will Jackson County do with Arrowhead Stadium after Chiefs exit?
As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to potentially move across the border to Kansas, Jackson County is left to reimagine the future of the 1.6-million-square-foot Arrowhead Stadium. And though county leaders have said they hope to stay in the Chiefs’ back pocket, they’ve begun to brainstorm a new attraction to fill the void.
Interim Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota says that the Office of the County Executive, along with other county staffers and leaders, will present a master plan to the legislature later this spring, detailing a potential future for the stadium site.
“I would like until springtime to make sure we’ve started on it and have some feedback to share with what we’re doing,” LeVota told The Star Thursday.
“I take seriously that giant piece of property in the heart of the county and I don’t want grass to grow under our feet. I want people to know there are future plans for the site to be a vibrant part of the county.”
The interim county executive declined to share a more specific timeline or potential specific uses for the site, but said he hopes to work with representatives from several cities in eastern Jackson County which are also in the stadium’s orbit.
“My philosophy is to get a coordinated, collaborative effort from municipalities and the county, the community,” LeVota said.
While developing a proposal for Arrowhead, LeVota said, the county plans to reach out to business district leaders and business owners near the stadium, along with potential outside entities with development expertise.
“Whatever happens to that property affects all of those interested parties,” LeVota said. “And I think it’s important that they are involved in the future of what happens there.”
LeVota said that the stadium, which he refers to as “the heart of Jackson County,” won’t necessarily be demolished when the Chiefs make their final exit.
“That’s the four-billion-dollar question from Kansas,” LeVota said. “I think there’s a lot of different opportunities or options.”
The decision to either renovate or rebuild will likely depend on what proposed re-use garners the most buy-in from “interested parties” in the coming months and years, LeVota said.
Chiefs funding questions
Some legislators, meanwhile, hope that funding for the future of Arrowhead can come out of the team’s pockets rather than county coffers.
Legislator Manny Abarca submitted a letter Dec. 31 to LeVota and County Counselor Bryan Covinsky, asking LeVota to commit to working with the Jackson County Sports Authority to plan for a potential demolition of Arrowhead Stadium once the Chiefs’ lease at the Truman Sports Complex lapses in 2031.
The letter proposes that Jackson County withhold all funding allotted toward the Chiefs. “For their play money,” Abarca said. And instead put those dollars toward a “strategic plan” to reuse the space at Truman Sports Complex.
The 2026 Jackson County budget designates about $36 million for payments to sports teams, including the Chiefs.
LeVota, however, said Thursday that payments to the Chiefs are protected through 2031 by the terms of the team’s current financial agreements with the county.
“I haven’t looked at [Abarca’s proposal] in too much detail,” LeVota said. “I am appreciative of any legislators thinking outside the box in the best interests of Jackson County. But I do know that we are under contract with the teams to do certain things and we have to follow that.”
