Kansas City mayor has fired back at suggestions that the Chiefs could move away from the city, including a mooted return to Dallas, Texas, where the franchise was originally formed.
Writing on X, he ruled out any such possibility and said that the team will be there in Kansas City well after their current lease expires. This points to the city working actively to find other solutions after voters rejected paying any part of the compensation. Mayor Quinton Lucas posted,
“I hear rumors, including even from the Mayor of Dallas. Kansas City, don’t believe the noise. We are committed to retention of our teams with vastly lower expenses--think needed infrastructure build out--than even an intra-metro move. Both teams will be in KCMO in 2040 and long after.”
Kansas City Chiefs becoming a political battle
The kerfuffle comes after the Dallas mayor commented saying that his lines of communication with Chiefs owner Clark Hunt are open and he is encouraging them to move to his city. He had said,
“The connections are so deep, the history is so rich. We actually could put together the deals that would make sense for them to get them here... I’m not really at liberty to say other than I have a good open line of communication with Clark Hunt. And that line of communication remains.”
The Chiefs are a prized commodity in today's market with the best quarterback and coach in the league. Their reach has also increased ever since star tight end Travis Kelce started dating singing superstar, Taylor Swift. And this makes their presence in any area extremely valuable. That brings out politicians to also take these stances where they can signal to the voters, by proxy, about their positions.
Right now, the Kansas City Chiefs are not expected to move any time soon. The Cotton Bowl, as the Dallas mayor has proposed, is not an NFL-ready stadium. And the team has a deal until 2030 to stay put. While the taxpayers might have ruled out a flat increase in taxes when they are already struggling, the government might be able to find something from their budget coffers.
There will be negotiations and Clark Hunt will be mindful that going to a place like Dallas would mean competing with the behemoth that is the Cowboys. He would rather stay where he is if he can avoid moving. Any other news to the contrary could simply be some public posturing to push the issue.
