Dallas mayor hints at bringing Chiefs to Cowboys territory after stadium vote fails

The Kansas City Chiefs’ future is up for grabs after the failure of a ballot measure to fund renovations for Arrowhead Stadium, and Dallas is apparently interested.

Dallas mayor Eric Johnson tweeted “Welcome home, Dallas Texans!” plus a smiling emoji Tuesday night, with a link to an article about how Question 1 in Johnson County failed to pass by a measure of 58%-42%. The measure would have extended a sales tax to fund the Arrowhead renovations as well as a new stadium for the Kansas City Royals.

Johnson threw in a hashtag for the Cotton Bowl, the stadium where he would want the Chiefs to move.

Johnson expanded on his interest in a statement to The Dallas Morning News the next day, insisting there was room enough for two franchises in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, even if one of those teams is the Dallas Cowboys:

“Dallas was named the top sports city in the United States because we play to win,” Johnson said in a statement Wednesday to The Dallas Morning News, referencing last year’s Sports Business Journal best sports cities ranking.

“As I have said previously, our market is big enough, growing enough, and loves football more than enough to support a second NFL team — especially a franchise (and an owner) with deep roots here.”

The Chiefs didn’t make any overt threats to leave Kansas City if Question 1 failed to pass, though they and the Royals did spend millions of dollars on attempting to convince voters their stadiums were worth billions in public funds.

Now, their path forward is unclear. The Chiefs are bound by their lease at Arrowhead Stadium through 2031.

This isn’t the first time Johnson has called for a second NFL team in the DFW area, rather than any number of metropolitan areas that don’t have a team (the Cowboys are located in Arlington, outside his jurisdiction). He tweeted a pitch for an expansion team in June 2022, then offered a new home for the Los Angeles Chargers a month later.

One person who hasn’t been a fan of the idea: Cowboys owner…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/dallas-mayor-hints-at-bringing-chiefs-to-cowboys-territory-after-stadium-vote-fails-000128762.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-04-04 00:01:28

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