KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to achieve the first three-peat in the NFL’s Super Bowl era as the team faces off against the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans. Although the Chiefs have played their last game of the season at Arrowhead Stadium, some have wondered if the stadium is located in Kansas or Missouri.
Despite the Kansas name being involved with the name of the city, the Kansas City Chiefs and the infamous Arrowhead Stadium are actually based in the Missouri side of Kansas City.
According to NFL Football Operations, the team initially played as the Dallas Texans in the American Football League from 1960 to 1962, before owner Lamar Hunt moved the team to Kansas City, Mo. and renamed the team the Chiefs. After it’s relocation, the team went on to play in the former Kansas City Municipal Stadium from 1963 to 1971 before moving into the team’s current home, Arrowhead Stadium, in 1972.
Although the Chiefs are currently based in Missouri, the future of the team is facing uncertainty due to ongoing conversations involving a stadium, with the state of Kansas joining in on the conversation.
The state of Kansas passed legislation last year in an effort to lure both the Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals away from Missouri with a new stadium. Through the initiative, Kansas offered to pay for up to 70 percent of the cost of a new Chiefs stadium.
Despite Kansas’ interest in the Chiefs and Royals, Missouri lawmakers are focused on keeping the teams in the state. Last month, 300,000 Chiefs fans received an email asking them to complete surveys about renovations to Arrowhead Stadium or the possibility of a new Chiefs stadium.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe and former Governor Mike Parson have previously said that they have talked with the teams and believe that they will stay in Missouri. Kehoe has said that voters passing sports betting was part of the solution for keeping the teams in the Show-Me State but has expressed that he isn’t a fan of spending taxpayer money on stadiums.