Chiefs will announce move to Kansas to build new stadium: sources

Sam McDowell, Matthew Kelly and Kacen Bayless, The Kansas City Star on Dec 22, 2025

Published in Football

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TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas City Chiefs have informed administrative officials that they will announce their move to Kansas today, according to sources who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The move was pending the approval of top Kansas lawmakers, who met Monday in Topeka, Kan., to vote on the proposal.

The lawmakers, eight members of Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council, met at 1 p.m. CST in the Kansas Capitol. Within an hour, they had met in executive session, out of the view of the public, and returned to vote unanimously to approve an incentive package that would allow the Kansas City Chiefs to move to Kansas.

The meeting then adjourned without lawmakers sharing any details of the size of the public subsidy or the location of a new stadium.

Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Stilwell Republican, said he expected details to be revealed at Gov. Laura Kelly’s 3 p.m. special announcement at the Docking Building, next to the Statehouse.

Tarwater, who helped craft the souped-up stadium incentive package, said after the meeting that STAR bonds are “a unique way to fund really big, cool, fun things.”

“It’s a way to build things and allow the people who visit the attractions to pay for it, rather than putting it on the taxpayers’ backs.”

He had high praise for Lt. Gov. David Toland, a Democrat, who led negotiations with the Chiefs.

“I can’t really comment on the details until the governor speaks for all of the work that they did. They did a lot of really good work on this. David Toland is an incredible negotiator, and I feel like the state of Kansas got a great deal,” Tarwater said.

Meeting in Topeka

Monday’s meeting at the Kansas Statehouse had loomed for days as it emerged to play a pivotal role in deciding which side of the Missouri border the Kansas City Chiefs would build their future on.

Top Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Topeka were expected to discuss the status of a possible massive subsidy deal to lure the Chiefs across the state line at the meeting of the Legislative Coordinating Council, or LCC.

The Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council, or LCC’s, meeting was a significant revelation after state lawmakers passed a supercharged bonding program, known as STAR bonds, for the Chiefs.

The influential eight-member panel includes the top Democratic and Republican leaders in both chambers of the Kansas Legislature and oversees state business when lawmakers are not in session.

Kansas plans to fund the development through a supercharged version of its Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR bonds program, which is designed to fund regional attractions by paying back developers with future sales tax revenue generated by tourists. Per the program, the bonds can fund up to 70% of a new stadium project. It’s not yet clear how much of a new Chiefs stadium will be publicly subsidized.

A new domed Chiefs stadium is estimated to cost around $3 billion, not accounting for any practice facilities.

Arrowhead Stadium

The Chiefs have played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., since 1972, and it’s been home to the birth of a recent football dynasty. Their current lease expires after the 2030 season.

The seismic decision comes after a year and a half of the Chiefs playing Kansas and Missouri officials off of each other to secure the most favorable stadium deal.

The move is likely to send shockwaves across the Chiefs’ home state of Missouri, where officials have routinely touted ongoing negotiations to keep the team inside state lines.

In April 2024, Jackson County voters rejected the 40-year extension of a local sales tax that would have funded a new Royals Stadium and major renovations at Arrowhead Stadium.

When the ballot question was rejected, Kansas officials seized on the opportunity to make their own pitch.

Missouri officials remained optimistic in the lead-up to the Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council’s vote that a competing incentive offer to fund up to 50% of stadium costs with public money would be enough to keep the Chiefs from crossing the border.

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