By JACKIE TAYLOR | December 24, 2025

Merry Christmas Kansas!

Merry Christmas, indeed! A $4 billion investment into the state of Kansas with a new stadium that will hold the Kansas City Chiefs!

After months and months of back-and-forth discussion on ‘where will the Chiefs end up,’ the decision has been made and Wyandotte County, Kan. is the recipient.

A new domed-stadium will be built near a new Buc-ee’s truck stop, that is built near the Kansas Speedway, that is built near Bass Pro and the Legends. The Economic Development team in Wyandotte County deserves a bonus for that series of builds.

Why Kansas? Chiefs’ owner, Clark Hunt, told news medias that negotiations with the state of Missouri, Jackson County and Kansas City got cumbersome versus dealing with the Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council, among other factors including where the buck stops.

Kansascommerce.gov reported, “Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas City Chiefs today announced that an agreement has been reached to build a domed stadium and a mixed-use entertainment district, as well as a new team headquarters, training facility and mixed-use development in Kansas. The project will be a massive economic win for the state, with the construction phase alone creating over 20,000 jobs and $4.4 billion in economic impact for Kansas. From there, the stadium will bring over $1 billion in annual impact.

“The agreement includes two distinct parts: (1) a $3 billion stadium in Wyandotte County, which will open at the start of the 2031 NFL season; and (2) a new Chiefs headquarters and training facility in the City of Olathe in Johnson County. Both sites will have mixed-use developments that could include sports, entertainment, dining, shopping, office, hotel and residential properties.”

You snooze, you lose can be used for Jackson County, Mo. I really don’t think they thought the Chiefs would leave – given the legacy Lamar Hunt built 50 years ago with the stadium. But hem hawing around, such as Jackson County manager Frank White did, and losing the sales tax initiative to build a new stadium, didn’t do the county or state any favors.

Hence, Monday, Dec. 22, the announcement came telling the world that Kansas now has an NFL team.

Foxnews.com reported, “The Chiefs, in conjunction with Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, announced in a joint statement from owner and chairman Clark Hunt that the team will be heading to Kansas City, Kansas, following a meeting of the Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council.

“In the years ahead, we look forward to designing and building a state-of-the-art domed stadium and mixed-use district in Wyandotte County, and a best-in-class training facility, team headquarters, and mixed-use district in Olathe, totaling a minimum of $4 billion of development in the State of Kansas.”

“The Chiefs will remain at Arrowhead Stadium with its lease lasting through the 2030 season.”

Kansas will see a mad scramble of businesses moving to take advantage of the new stadium. Quaint restaurants and shops built around the Chiefs will struggle when big crowds move to the west 20 miles to tail-gate and cheer on their team. It’s all the ebb and flow of business; but it’l BULLY PULPIT l be a challenge for many after Arrowhead goes dark in 2031.

Meanwhile, I appreciated Gov. Laura Kelly’s comment that Kansas is not a fly-over state, “we are a touchdown state.” It’ll be fun to watch and see what happens with the economic boom coming. Kansas better hold onto her skirt, we’re going to burst at the seam pretty quickly.