"I've never been to see a game at Arrowhead Stadium; that probably affects my viewpoint."

Brain -
I've read many of your articles; appreciated, absorbed, and forwarded them to several friends, including journalists, who have admired your thoughtfulness to the subject.

You should make a point of seeing a game at Arrowhead this season. Sports Illustrated For Kids ask 400 current NFL players what stadium they desired the least to be the opposing team in. Arrowhead received the majority of the votes, a staggering 46%.

It is a lovely stadium that has given more benefit to the Chiefs than the human mind can fathom. It's much like the ails that affected the Red Sox for decades, it's not the stadium, it's the management stupid.

Your friend,
RS

/with thanks to political strategist James Carville for help with the anecdote.

Thanks for the kind words, RS. Which journalists? Can any of 'em put in a good word for me to start getting paid for sharing my thoughts? [big grin]

Although I've never watched a game at Arrowhead, I've watched many a game at Texas A&M, and I understand how a stadium can make a difference. But I think that more than 80% of the appeal of Arrowhead is the fans. I think we could fill up a stadium 15 miles down the road in a different county just as easily. I'd much rather the Chiefs didn't have to move. If for no other reason, because Arrowhead is one of the few stadiums that never sold the name for licensing purposes (something I've always hated).
But I don't think the Chiefs (and the fans who want the Chiefs to remain competitive and who want to see a Superbowl in KC) should allow sentiment to be used as a bludgeon. Emotional blackmail shouldn't be rewarded.
I'd be shocked if KC ever did move to a different stadium; I think sooner or later an agreement will be reached. But I'd prefer it to be sooner rather than later, and I'm just trying to do my part to raise the pressure on Jackson County.

If we're discussing an issue of tax credits, then my friend I'd have to inquire what your intentions really are. It's not that KC would or would not be a suitable hold for the Super Bowl, but the NFL has made it increasingly clear that there will be no Bowls held north of the Mason-Dixon. Arrowhead is a fine venue for sports, superb actually. I've seen firsthand what Denver did to their stadium, and if you removed the allegiance most Broncos fans had to the old mile high, an open-air horseshoe colossus doesn't have the same '12th-man' advantage that a vertically oriented stadium like Arrowhead currently possesses.

It would be unwise to move the Chiefs anywhere else other than their current location. A movement to relocate the team was shot down by civic referendum, Why?, bc there is absolutely no appetite to funnel the tradition that is Arrowhead for one event that is certainly not guaranteed. You'd be hard pressed to put forth an argument that would convince me otherwise that the fans and the organization have as much to gain from the SB that they wouldn't already benefit from during a 8-game home season in their current venue.

Is this pride? I've always been struck by the desperation that is the argument that KC has something to prove and that to do so we'd need to hold the SB locally. Never mind the fact that there is simply not enough hotel space to accommodate the event. (Remember KC's failed '96 bid for the Democratic National Convention)

Just a few thoughts, and as for the journalists, stay with your blog and they will come to you. trust me, we like to stay abreast of the grassroots movement that is the blog culture.

You're crazy if you think the Chiefs should move. Arrowhead is the LOUDEST stadium in the NFL. You really should see a game there before you write a story about how bad it sucks.

Is hosting a Superbowl really that big of a deal? It's a big deal if the Chiefs could make it to the final game in the same year, but that requires them to not CHOKE in the playoffs like always.

Who said anything about Arrowhead sucking? I agree: it's a fine place. It is legendary. The Chiefs shouldn't have to leave it.

But Jackson County needs to meet them halfway. The stadium should be kept up. Just as the contract stipulates.

If Jackson County doesn't keep their part of the bargain, why should the Chiefs?

Any stadium filled with 70,000+ screaming fans is going to be deafeningly loud, whether Arrowhead, or one a few miles down the road built to actually help the Chiefs remain competitive.

The fact is Jackson County is the biggest slum of a county in the KC Metro Area. There are more important things for them to worry about than a fricking football stadium. The stadium should be the responsibility of the owners, not citizens of Jackson County.

The thing you're missing is that if the owners pay for renovation, the citizens will pay for it, anyway.

And if Jackson County doesn't live up to the responsibilities they freely committed to, the citizens of Jackson County will pay by losing the revenue that comes from hosting the Chiefs...and perhaps the Royals, too.

Short-term thinking results in self-defeating miserlyness.

I think the Chiefs deserve to have a new stadium, but I hope the don't move to Los Angeles. I would like to see the Chiefs void their contract with Jackson County, Missouri and move to Western Wyandotte County, Kansas where the Kansas Speedway and Village West have been ever successful. Wyandotte County (with help from Johnson County) could build the Chiefs a state of the art 500-600 million dollar stadium with all the amenities to host Big 12 events and possibly a Super Bowl. I personally have been to 4 games at Arrowhead and believe that it is a special stadium but needs millions of dollars in repairs to become satasfactory. If you live in Kansas City you should remember when General Motors threatened to leave Kansas City, Kansas because their facilites were in terrible condition. Wyandotte County told them that if they stayed here that they would give them no taxes for 40 years and would build them a state the art facility. I think this is what some county in the Kansas City metropolitan area should do because the Chiefs bring in millions of dollars in revenue each year, if you give them incentives to stay I am positive that they will not move to LA.

Exactly, Chris.
I'm absolutely certain the Chiefs remain committed to the KC area. But the only thing tying them to Jackson County is the lease (which Jackson County doesn't consider worth honoring, so why should the Chiefs?), and tradition.
We could begin a new tradition in a new stadium, if necessary. I'm hoping Jackson County doesn't let it come to that.

The Chiefs should NOT leave Arrowhead. Thanks to Jackson County voters, they will be staying there for at least 25 more years. Are you aware that EVERY NFL stadium that has been built since Arrowhead opened has been modeled after Arrowhead in one way or another? The seating bowl is absolutely perfect, it is actually mathmatically impossible to make one any better, just ask any architect who designs football stadiums... Once the renovations are done, Arrowhead will once again be the absolute BEST football stadium in existence. The Chiefs wanted to stay at Arrowhead for a reason. Building a new stadium would have been a big mistake, and I"m glad they didn't go down that road. You have GOT to find a way to see a Chiefs game at Arrowhead!! Why have you deprived yourself for so long? It's the best gameday atmosphere there is, bar none!