The Kansas City Chiefs have announced a groundbreaking agreement to relocate their home games to a state-of-the-art domed stadium in Wyandotte County, Kansas, starting with the 2031 NFL season.
The multibillion-dollar project, funded in part by Kansas state incentives through STAR bonds, will also include a new entertainment district near the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The Chiefs also plan to move their headquarters and training facilities to Olathe in nearby Johnson County, according to an official statement from the team.
“This is a game-changer for Kansas, and it’s a signal to America and the world that our state’s future is very bright,” said Gov. Laura Kelly (D).
The move comes after years of negotiations and a failed stadium renovation vote in Jackson County, Missouri, earlier this year. The Chiefs’ current lease at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium expires after the 2030 season.
Team owner Clark Hunt, the son of the franchise’s founder, Lamar Hunt, said the move aims to ensure the team’s long-term viability while enhancing the overall fan experience.
‘This project represents another step in our legacy of innovation and our fan-first mentality, which started with my father, Lamar Hunt. The stadium, practice facility, and surrounding development will benefit the entire region, and further elevate Kansas City in the eyes of the country and the world,” Hunt said.
However, it seems that not all Chiefs fans are excited about the upcoming change.
“How do you feel about the Chiefs moving to Kansas? I feel utterly betrayed. Like Clark Hunt doesn’t have enough money already. Taxpayers don’t want to pay for half of a stupid ‘renovation’ operation so… move to Kansas? Shameful. Lamar Hunt would never do this,” wrote X user LMG_Production.
“Stop gaslighting fans into thinking the chiefs moving less than 30 miles away isn’t a big deal. It’s a big deal,” added another user on X, Francheska Lathrop.
For Dallas sports fans, this announcement stirs memories of the Chiefs’ origins in the Lone Star State.
The franchise began as the Dallas Texans in 1960, one of the original teams in the American Football League (AFL), founded by Lamar Hunt after he was denied an NFL expansion team for Dallas, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Playing their home games at the iconic Cotton Bowl in Fair Park, the Texans quickly made their mark. Under head coach Hank Stram, they featured stars like quarterback Len Dawson and running back Abner Haynes, with one season culminating in a 20-17 double-overtime win over the Houston Oilers in the 1962 AFL Championship Game, still remembered as one of the longest games in pro football history.
However, the Texans’ time in Dallas was short-lived.
Facing stiff competition from the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, who debuted in 1960 and drew larger crowds, Hunt decided to relocate the team after just three seasons.
In 1963, the franchise moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and was renamed the Chiefs to honor then-Mayor H. Roe Bartle, nicknamed “The Chief.”
The team first played at Municipal Stadium from 1963 to 1971 before settling into Arrowhead Stadium in 1972, where they’ve built a dynasty, with three Super Bowl wins in the last six years.
This latest relocation isn’t a full departure from the Kansas City metro area—Wyandotte County is just across the Missouri River—but it represents a fresh chapter for a team with deep Texas ties.
