Kansas City Chiefs mull major move, soccer teams score a couple of wins: KC Replay
Mark Donovan, president of the Kansas City Chiefs, sent shock waves throughout the KC region (and shudders down some Missouri spines) when he told a gathering of reporters at the NFL owners meetings in Florida that the team has been looking into relocating.
Across the state line.
The Chiefs have called Arrowhead Stadium — now officially GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium — their home for more than 50 years. During that time, they’ve renovated and re-renovated the iconic open bowl, hoisted trophies there and cleaned up after an assortment of events — Kenny Chesney concerts to Monster Jams to international soccer matches.
Could they really even consider bidding adieu to the Show Me State and setting up camp in a newly constructed venue on the Kansas side of the invisible but omnipresent line demarcating Missouri from its western neighbor? Apparently so. And if one wonders how personally many fans view the mere mention of that possibility, consider how folks here react when someone — a musical act at T-Mobile Center, say, or a past President of the United States — errs in saying KC, KCMO, is located in Kansas.
It ain’t pretty.
That’s a good place to start our weekly review of recent sports headlines, because in Kansas City, it’s hard to rival breaking news about the Chiefs — especially when that news is that they’re side-eyeing the Sunflower State.
Could it really happen?
As sports columnist Vahe Gregorian so eloquently explains in his thoughtful column gracing this Sunday edition of The Star, the Chiefs are doing proper and due diligence as the Royals explore their own future (and potential construction of new digs downtown).
Truman Sports Complex was a marvel when it opened a half-century ago. Thanks to renovations to both Arrowhead and the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium, that’s no less true today. The parking lot has issues, there’s no roof to protect fans from the elements and ballgames can end in rainouts, but on the whole it’s a pleasant and efficient place to watch a game — football or baseball.
Donovan’s revelation last week could simply represent an effort on the Chiefs’ part to get the best deal they can for themselves once their current lease with Jackson County expires in less than a decade. In stadium-years, that’s the blink of an eye. Gregorian accurately points out that any plans for the 2030s need to hatch in the 2020s. So here we are.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a shock that the Chiefs are sniffing out potential construction sites across the KC metro. Last fall, when it became clear new Royals owner John Sherman had his eye on a downtown ballpark, here’s what Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said: “We’re going to watch as they go through the process, and at some point here in the next year or so, start thinking about what’s next for the Chiefs from a stadium standpoint.”
KC Current starts strong
Three games into their 2022 campaign, just the second in existence for the National Women’s Soccer League franchise, the upstart KC Current entered Saturday afternoon’s home opener against Racing Louisville FC unbeaten.
The Current improved to 2-0-1 on Wednesday with a 3-0 drubbing of host Houston that was powered by holdovers from 2021 and young newcomers. Through three NWSL Challenge Cup matches, international star Sam Mewis had yet to score a goal, and fellow veteran Lynn Williams was lost for the season with a leg injury that required surgery.
It’s pretty impressive to see what the Current has been able to piece together in just its second season.
Another 1-0 win for Sporting
Entering this MLS season, Sporting KC and one-zip victories had been anything but synonymous.
Well, this has changed. Ahead of Saturday’s road match at the Whitecaps, both of Sporting KC’s wins had come via 1-0 decisions at home — including last weekend against Real Salt Lake.
The fact that Sporting has been able to win some close games with a litany of injuries to key players seemed like a victory in itself. Regardless of Saturday’s outcome in Vancouver, this healthier version of Sporting KC could be in pretty good shape now.