Hartford-esque Situation Playing Out with Bid of New Chiefs Stadium
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Anyone who remembers the situation in the late 90s with the New England Patriots and Robert Kraft making a potential relocation to Hartford, Connecticut, can likely relate to what’s happening out in Kansas City.
According to the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin, the state of Kansas is apparently expanding its push to try and lure the Chiefs across state lines. The governer, Laura Kelly, signed legislation last Friday expanding a state bond program that could enable it to fund up to 70 percent of a new stadium for the Chiefs, with the state also interested in potentially luring away the Royals.
This comes after voters in Missouri rejected a sales tax measure that would have paid for renovations to Arrowhead Stadium, which the club is bound to by a lease and doesn’t expire until 2030.
However, a new stadium – given the fact nearly 60% of the voters shot down the last measure on a renovation for Arrowhead Stadium – doesn’t appear in the cards currently in Missouri.
Now, with Kansas putting together an offer, which has seen potential renderings that include a state-of-the-art, multi-use domed stadium, the discussion has gotten interesting.
For those who recall the situation in Foxboro when the city of Hartford, Connecticut came calling, there’s a bit of a parallel. Hartford put together a deal that was too good to turn down, which Kraft accepted after Massachusetts rejected assistance during Kraft’s initial new stadium bid.
The craziest part of that situation was after exploring options in Boston, which didn’t pan out, Kraft still made an effort to keep the team in Foxboro. The owner even decided to finance the construction of the stadium on his own, which was significant given that the state of Connecticut was willing to finance the entire stadium, even willing to pay any leftover money to Kraft if it came in below initial estimates.
Despite that, Massachusetts continued to play hardball, with the state still initially rejecting the money needed for the infrastructure around a possible new stadium in Foxboro.
That’s when things became contentious. At that point, all signs pointed to an exit to Connecticut, which ultimately required the league to step in and help negotiate with the state in an effort to get the $70 million in infrastructure upgrades approved to consummate the deal.
Fortunately, it got pushed through and the rest, as they say, is history.
At the time, Hartford felt “used” to get that deal done. Ironically enough, that’s how Missouri feels right now as Kansas is rolling out the red carpet to lure the Chiefs 10 miles across state lines. Still, while there is apparently an agreement that was reached between Missouri and Kansas back in 2019 to “not poach businesses from each other,” the feeling now is that Missouri had its chance. Now Kansas is making its bid.
Whether or not something comes to fruition remains to be seen. But a renovation vs a new domed facility has to be enticing.
Meanwhile, for the rest of us who lived through that saga here in New England when it seemed like the Patriots were leaving Massachusetts, it will be interesting to see how this situation ultimately plays out.
(Editor’s Note: Portions of the above appeared in this morning’s Patriots news and notes column.)
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