Missouri Governor Slams KC Chiefs for Surprise Move to Neighboring Kansas

Paul Spinelli/AP

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe had some harsh words for the Kansas City Chiefs in response to the news that the team would be moving to the state of Kansas.

On Monday, the Chiefs released a statement officially confirming the team’s plans to move to Kansas. Team owner Clark Hunt revealed in the statement that the organization reached an agreement with the state to relocate in 2031. The team has called Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, its home since 1972.

The move to Kansas, Hunt continued, will be a $4 billion development that will include the construction of a domed stadium and other team facilities in Wyandotte County.

Not long after that announcement, Kehoe took to social media to blast the team for going with Kansas’s offer over Missouri’s. The governor said:

The State of Missouri is the best home for the Kansas City Chiefs.

State leaders did our part in putting together an attractive and competitive package that was a good deal for Missouri taxpayers and for the Chiefs.

Missouri’s incentives would have empowered the Chiefs organization to grow and invest in the unparalleled Arrowhead experience, creating a true legacy stadium for the next generation.

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. At Arrowhead, every game feels like a Super Bowl. No new stadium will replicate that.

I join Chiefs Kingdom in expressing my strong disappointment with this decision.

Hours later, Missouri Rep. Jason Smith joined in Kehoe’s disappointment with a post of his own.

“Since the day the Rams abandoned St. Louis, I haven’t cheered for them,” Smith said. “While Kansas isn’t as far as California, this is once again a painful reminder that teams’ ultimate loyalty isn’t to their fans – it’s to their bottom line. It’s beyond disappointing that the NFL would allow not one, not two, but three teams to leave Missouri. I didn’t think the Chiefs season could get worse – but I was wrong.”

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