Chiefs' President Talks Stadium Plans After Failed Vote: 'A Generational Decision'

The Kansas City Chiefs' lease at Arrowhead Stadium expires at the end of the 2030 season. The team desires to stay there following that campaign, but Jackson County, Missouri, voters shot down a sales tax measure that would have enabled them to undergo an $800 million overhaul of the building.

Now the Chiefs are left pondering their next move, and team president Mark Donovan admitted to reporters at the team's training camp that a "generational decision awaits."

"This is a generational decision," Donovan said, per ESPN's Adam Teicher. "This is going to impact the future of this franchise for generations. We've got to get it right and we are going to do the due diligence."

The sales tax measure plan rejection happened in April. Dave Skretta of the Associated Press provided the details, which also involved MLB's Kansas City Royals.

"More than 58% of voters ultimately rejected the plan, which would have replaced an existing three-eighths of a cent sales tax that has been paying for the upkeep of Truman Sports Complex — the home for more than 50 years to Kauffman and Arrowhead Stadiums — with a similar tax that would have been in place for the next 40 years.

"The Royals, who had pledged at least $1 billion from ownership for their project, wanted to use their share of the tax revenue to help fund a $2 billion-plus ballpark district. The Super Bowl champion Chiefs, who had committed $300 million in private money, would have used their share as part of an $800 million overhaul of Arrowhead Stadium."

The stadium has been open since 1972 and was notably renovated for $375 million from 2007-2010. It has received good reviews, although the atmosphere created by fans outside (for tailgates) and inside the stadium stands out the most.

In the latest NFLPA survey, the Chiefs' facilities notably received very poor reviews, including an F for the locker room and a D for the training room.

The Chiefs are sticking around Arrowhead Stadium for at least six more years, but now it's unclear what the plan of action will be afterward. Donovan provided some thoughts.

"We have to look at a new building,'' Donovan said. "We're open to it. We're open to a new building on the complex. We're open to a new building somewhere else. We're open to a dome or an outdoor [facility] as a new building. We're also very open to renovating GEHA Field at Arrowhead because I think it's iconic. It's something that's unique. We'd love to be able to do that.

"It's just going to come down to what makes the most sense, and I want to reiterate the factors that go into that decision are what's best for our fans, what's best for the franchise for the next few decades.''

At this moment, the Chiefs are pursuing their options without a firm plan in place, but it appears Kansas City will have a better idea of what they want to do soon enough.

"Six months from today, we're going to have to have a really good idea of where we are," Donovan said. "It may not be done done, but we need to have a good idea."

In the meantime, the Chiefs, winners of three of the past five Super Bowls, are looking to become the first NFL team to win three straight Lombardi Trophies. Their quest begins Sept. 5 at home versus the Baltimore Ravens.