The Chiefs aren’t going to get pulled out of Missouri without a fight.
With the state of Missouri and city of Kansas City previously eyeing taxpayer funds to support renovations of the Chiefs home stadium, vaunted Arrowhead Stadium, and failing to get the votes necessary to make that happen, the neighboring and rival state of Kansas has been looking to pounce.
The Kansas state government signed legislation earlier this year that would open the door for the Chiefs along with MLB’s Kansas City Royals to move from Missouri to Kansas by the state funding new stadiums for both franchises in the Sunflower State. Thus, with Missouri taxpayers and voters not offering the support there to seemingly allow for necessary stadium renovations, a move has been looking shockingly likely.
But now, Missouri Governor Mike Parson is joining the fight to keep the Chiefs in the Show Me State. His latest comments seem to indicate that the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions leave without a fight.
Missouri governor promises to fight for Chiefs to stay
In comments to the Associated Press, Parson made it clear that he’s going to leave no stone unturned in trying to retain both the Chiefs and Royals.
“We’re going to make sure that we put the best business deal we can on the line. Look, I can’t blame Kansas for trying. You know, if I was probably sitting there, I’d be doing the same thing. But at the end of the day, we’re going to be competitive,” Parson said (h/t Pro Football Talk).
You have to love the always-present rivalry between the states of Kansas and Missouri. That’s how we get extremely condescending lines like “Look, I can’t blame Kansas for trying” coming out of the mouth of the sitting Missouri Governor. That’s just beautiful stuff and, in my extremely non-political opinion, is what politics should be all about: petty shots at rival states.
In all seriousness, though, Chiefs fans simply wanting common sense and reason to win out might indeed be getting their wish if Parson is to be believed. He sounds motivated to put up a fight and put forth whatever funding, deals or legislation possible to keep an NFL team with a rich tradition in Kansas City, MO to remain there.
We too can’t blame Kansas for trying. However, it would also be a shame to see the Chiefs playing anywhere other than Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. It’s one of the best environments in the NFL and anything that would ultimately risk changing that would not be worth it from a pure football perspective.
This is a battle that’s far from over. But Parson and the state government of Missouri aren’t going to just let their rival state of Kansas take the Chiefs and Royals from them without some — what appears to be quite spirited — resistance.