Chiefs Owner Clark Hunt Discusses Leaving Arrowhead Stadium After Failed Jackson County Tax Vote

Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt discussed the possibility of leaving GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium after Jackson County residents voted against a sales tax extension on April 2.

Sep 24, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt. / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt spoke to members of the media on Saturday during the 2024 NFL Draft, making his first public comments since Jackson County, Missouri, voters rejected a ballot question that would have extended funding for renovations at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and for a new downtown ballpark for the Kansas City Royals. The ballot question was voted down on April 2, with more than 58% of voters voting "no," despite the Chiefs and Royals reportedly spending nearly $5.7 million on the "yes" campaign.

On Saturday, Hunt acknowledged that the Chiefs are now exploring the possibility of leaving Arrowhead Stadium, though Hunt said staying at a revamped Arrowhead "definitely is" still an option.

"Arrowhead is a special place for our family and our fan base," Hunt said. "That was one of the reasons that we focused on it with the last effort, but going forward it may make more sense for us to be in a new stadium.''

Asked what lessons he learned from the failed campaign and the process that led there, Hunt expressed his disappointment with the result and said the Chiefs will be revisiting their options as they plan for the future.

"We’re definitely disappointed with how the stadium vote turned out," Hunt said. “It was something that we had worked on for several years, and we were excited about the opportunity to be able to renovate GEHA Field at Arrowhead, and unfortunately, it just didn’t pass. I’ve been through a few of these processes, and I know from that experience that what you try first doesn’t always succeed. So, we’ll be in a situation where we go back to the drawing board. We will look at all of our options going forward, which is something we mentioned before the vote. So that’ll be our focus."

Hunt was later asked if remaining at Arrowhead Stadium was still a priority for the team.

"When we started on this process three years ago, it felt like we had a very long time, a long runway with about 9 1/2 years left on our lease," Hunt said. "We're now down to 6 1/2, and so I do feel very much of a sense of urgency, and we will approach it from a broader perspective going forward because time is short for us at this point and so we need to see what other options are out there for us.''

Hunt was then asked if he foresaw the Chiefs and Royals separating in future plans and negotiations after the united Jackson County push, and Hunt said both teams would benefit from separate pitches going forward.

"I really think, at this point, it makes sense for both of us to work independently,'' Hunt said. "There's certainly nothing to preclude us coming back and doing something together, but [Royals owner John Sherman] also feels the sense of urgency and I know he's eager to try to find a long-term solution, which we are as well."

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