Chiefs’ move to Kansas is a ‘shock to the system’ for Missouri, officials say
The Kansas City Chiefs’ plan to abandon their current stadium and move to Kansas sent shockwaves across the team’s home state of Missouri on Monday.
The seismic move, which the team announced Monday afternoon, left Missouri officials stunned after they spent the last six months touting an incentives package they felt was enough to keep the team inside state lines.
Even as hope of the Chiefs remaining in Missouri appeared to diminish over the past several days, a chorus of local and state leaders repeatedly argued that they were still in negotiations with the team.
That all fell apart Monday afternoon when top Kansas lawmakers approved a new stadium deal with the team. The Chiefs followed that vote with their own announcement of a new domed stadium in Wyandotte County.
One by one, Missouri officials weighed in on the extraordinary move. Some cast blame while others framed the move as a sign that Missouri needed to double down on its efforts to keep the Kansas City Royals.
“No matter how long we had to…think about this as a possibility, it’s still a shock to the system,” Missouri House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, said in a phone interview.
Patterson characterized the Chiefs’ move as a business decision, saying that a new domed stadium in Kansas was an offer that Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri could not match.
“As easy as it would be to now play the blame game here in Missouri, I think it’s best we regroup and get together as city, state and county leaders and see what we can do about maybe keeping the Kansas City Royals in Missouri,” Patterson said.
Missouri Sen. Kurtis Gregory, a Marshall Republican who sponsored Missouri’s plan to keep the Chiefs inside state lines, echoed Patterson’s thoughts in an interview.
“Obviously disappointment,” Gregory said. “Now is not the time to lament and miss another opportunity. So, lick the wounds, take a few hours and get right back to the negotiating table and keep the Royals here.”
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, said in a statement that he joined Chiefs fans “in expressing my strong disappointment with this decision.”
“Unfortunately, team ownership has decided to abandon Lamar Hunt’s legacy at the iconic Arrowhead Stadium, a place that Chiefs fans have rallied around since 1972,” Kehoe said. “At Arrowhead, every game feels like a Super Bowl. No new stadium will replicate that.”
The top leaders in Kansas City and Jackson County also weighed in on the news Monday afternoon.
“While the Chiefs aren’t going far away and aren’t gone yet, today is a setback as a Kansas Citian, a former Chiefs season ticket holder, and a lifelong Chiefs fan,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a lengthy statement. “Today is a loss for the communities of East Kansas City, Independence, Raytown, and some of our favorite places en route to the stadiums like LC’s Barbecue.”
Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota framed the move as disappointing in a statement that also suggested that Missouri could still step in if the Kansas proposal ultimately fell through.
“Missourians do not give up easily,” LeVota said. “The Chiefs are still Jackson County’s team for many years and we will remain supportive of them but also are here with a plan in case the ‘shock and awe’ Kansas proposal isn’t as wonderful as we are hearing it is.”
Some point fingers at Kehoe
Kansas City Democrats were quick to place blame for the team’s exit at the feet of Kehoe, who signed his state’s incentives package into law over the summer.
“Governor Kehoe’s mishandling of efforts to keep the Chiefs in Missouri is a major reason the team is poised to relocate across the border,” Missouri House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat, said in a statement on Monday.
Aune pointed to the fact that Kehoe unveiled Missouri’s funding proposal in the final days of last year’s legislative session and it failed to cross the finish line. Missouri lawmakers returned for a special session over the summer to pass the plan, which would have offered to pay for up to 50% of a new or renovated stadium for the Chiefs.
The top Democrat also took aim at Kehoe’s broader legislative agenda, specifically his recent push to eliminate the state’s income tax.
“With no income tax, the tax credits at the center of Missouri’s proposal would become largely worthless,” Aune said. Since the fate of the Royals remains in play, the governor must stop undercutting the value of Missouri’s stadium package and get a deal done.”
Meanwhile, Missouri Rep. Mark Sharp, a Kansas City Democrat, signaled in a lengthy statement that there was plenty of blame to share among state and local leaders. He added that he had watched his last Chiefs game.
“Chiefs fans deserved loyalty and transparency,” Sharp said. “Instead, a combination of local dysfunction, state-level inaction, and organizational indifference brought us to this moment - and our community is being left to pay the price!”
This story was originally published December 22, 2025 at 3:30 PM.
