The Kansas City Chiefs are said to be looking for a stadium site in Wyandotte County. This view shows a large tract of undeveloped land north of State Avenue, looking northwest from near N. 118th Street on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Tammy Ljungblad tljungblad@kcstar.com
Although rumors had been circulating for months, official word that the Kansas City Chiefs would be building their new stadium in Wyandotte County came as a surprise to residents on both sides of the state line.
Now that local officials and residents have finally been clued in on that move, neighborhood leaders in Kansas City, Kansas, want to make sure businesses and homes east of I-635 benefit from any economic activity generated by the stadium’s construction on the city’s far west side.
As negotiations among the state, city and team continue, some KCK Neighborhood Business and Revitalization groups (NBRs) told The Star they want to see government leadership advocate for in-writing terms that create opportunities for east KCK businesses and developers.
They also want to see transparency in how those opportunities are being fought for.
Parties involved in negotiations have an opportunity to include terms benefitting east side businesses in a future community benefits agreement, they point out. That agreement should include how the Chiefs will invest in Wyandotte County in the long term, according to these local leaders.
New jobs, fair access
Edgar Galicia, who leads KCK’s Central Area Betterment Association, said he’s heard numerous times that westward development would mean urban investment.
And although major developments like the Legends shopping outlet, the U.S. Soccer facilities and the Kansas Speedway have resulted in economic activity and helped put KCK on the map, Galicia said he felt like those deals ultimately benefitted corporations over long-disinvested communities.
CABA is still doing its research before formally deciding whether it’s behind the stadium project. The organization has been looking into community benefits agreements struck between major sports franchises that have built new stadiums in other places throughout the country.
From those agreements, Galicia said his organization was interested in clauses involving community engagement and public meetings ahead of land acquisition deals and other major decisions made throughout the development and planning processes.
When officials first presented the Chiefs’ move to Kansas, they said the project would create more than 20,000 jobs in the area. Galicia said CABA wants to make sure Wyandotte County’s local workforce is specifically included in those hiring and subcontracting opportunities.
That inclusion could look like the team, state or local government helping local companies acquire financing and allow them to grow to the point that they’d be able to serve as subcontractors on projects involving the stadium or entertainment districts, Galicia said.
When game day finally comes around, CABA wants to make sure Wyandotte County residents who would be interested in attending games don’t have to deal with standing room only tickets. During multi-hour-long games, tickets for seats in the new stadium should be accessible to residents, he said.
Wyandotte County residents pack the room where officials held a public hearing about the Kansas City Chiefs’ plans to move to Kansas on the evening of Feb. 3, 2026, in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. Sofi Zeman szeman@kcstar.com
Transparency, revitalization
Many local neighborhood organizations haven’t decided how they feel about the Chiefs agreement because there’s so much they don’t know about it, said Sarah Oltvedt of the Rosedale Development Association.
Oltvedt thinks with warmer months ahead, there will be more opportunities for community groups to hold listening sessions and hear people’s concerns and ideas about what they want to see come out of this deal.
In the meantime, the Unified Government has plenty of opportunities to have an open dialogue about this project with the community, Oltvedt said. That dialogue should include the government’s plans and strategies to include the city’s legacy neighborhoods in negotiations.
The Chiefs moving to KCK is an opportunity to rewrite the rest of the Kansas City metro’s preconceived ideas about Wyandotte County, Oltvedt said. The community gets a bad rap and is often overlooked in regional discussions, she said.
But a community benefits agreement that includes philanthropy and keeps neighborhood improvement and revitalization in mind could bring attention to east KCK neighborhoods that are rich with art, culture and long-standing local businesses.
“It’s an opportunity for KCK to show off what it’s all about,” she said.
Getting that recognition on the east side isn’t just going to happen by osmosis, Oltvedt said. It’s something that has to be cemented in writing, and that’ll come from neighborhoods organizing and advocating for what they want to see.
Tammy Ljungblad tljungblad@kcstar.com
Development west, investment east
It’s something KCK residents have seen for years, and a phenomenon residents continue to lament during public meetings: Tourism sets up shop in undeveloped parts of the city’s rural, west end. With that comes increased housing stock, growth and new revenue streams to help the local government operate.
But neighborhoods in the city’s urban core, such as its northeast corner and downtown corridors, haven’t felt significant waves of progress ripple up and down their blocks when that development happens.
The Quindaro Boulevard business corridor, although home to locally-known bites and businesses, still doesn’t have a grocery store that residents can access within walking distance. And the high cost of living combined with rising utility and property tax bills have areas long marked by historic disinvestment and redlining feeling frozen in time.
This doesn’t mean locals aren’t putting in the work to address those issues. Several small developers and community organizations are already doing what they can to bring life into the city’s downtown open spaces. They’re also increasing the local housing stock by building homes people can afford.
But with the $3 billion dollar domed stadium planned for completion by 2031 bringing the billion-dollar Chiefs’ empire to west KCK, residents want to ensure that as people flock to the area for home games, that money and opportunities also flow in for the entire Wyandotte County community. And they’re hoping those promises extend well beyond the stadium itself and the entertainment district touted by Gov. Laura Kelly when she announced the Chiefs’ move back in December.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK in 2023 created a community benefits fund specifically designed to ensure any future development in Wyandotte County results in improvements across KCK, specifically in neighborhoods east of I-635.
Starting in 2024, a portion of issuance and administrative fees from economic development projects that receive local incentives began being directed toward that fund to be used for local initiatives, like senior home repair programs and an affordable housing trust, according to the Unified Government.
“If our babies, those struggling with housing, and seniors are taken care of, Wyandotte County will be okay. This is what the Community Benefits Ordinance seeks to do,” said Andrew Davis, Eighth District Commissioner and among the people who advocated for the ordinance, at the time of its approval. “As economic development continues to take off in Wyandotte County, so will investments in these important targeted areas.”
A marker of history standing at a crossroads. This 2016 sign at the Truman Sports Complex seen on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, explains the legacy of the grounds between Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums. Following the December announcement, the Kansas City Chiefs are set to leave their longtime home for a new domed stadium in Wyandotte County, Kansas. Tammy Ljungblad tljungblad@kcstar.com
Minority businesses and future projects
Still, some residents worry that officials won’t negotiate with the best interests of all in mind.
Murray D. Anderson Sr., a KCK resident, filed suit against the Kansas Department of Commerce last year for what he called discriminatory distribution of American Rescue Plan Act funds in Kansas in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. That lawsuit is currently in the appeals process.
In that lawsuit, Anderson argues that the Kansas Department of Commerce did not sufficiently award funding to minority-owned businesses.
Anderson, who also runs Freedmen’s International Bancshares Inc. said he has concerns that the Department of Commerce may get in the way of offering incentives for Black and brown businesses in Wyandotte County.
So, he’s asked the Kansas City Chiefs to join his lawsuit against the department. He hopes this will guarantee funding for minority-owned businesses is included in the language of the community benefits agreement and any future projects pitched in predominantly Black and brown communities, Murray said.
As of publication time, Murray had not received a response from the Chiefs, he said.