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 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 Jerry Jones.

The Chiefs aren’t moving to Dallas, but the city’s mayor can dream. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Obviously, the Chiefs aren’t moving to Dallas, for any number of reasons. The idea of any NFL team, especially a team with local ties and history like the Chiefs, moving to an area where they would be second banana to the most popular and valuable franchise in American sports is impractical to the point of comedy. The NFL itself also probably wouldn’t be a fan of needlessly shrinking its footprint and simultaneously drawing the ire of Jones.

It’s unclear what Johnson thinks he’ll accomplish by pushing for this. One group with a better chance, however, is right across the state border of the Chiefs’ current home.

Kansas is more likely to be Chiefs’ destination than DallasThe Kansas City Star reports that former Kansas House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. is working with other parties to lure the Chiefs from the Missouri side of Kansas City to Kansas. He explained it with the kind of tortured puns that would make Scott Boras blush:

“Jackson County fumbled. Now there will be a mad scramble for the ball and we’re in the best position for a scoop and score,” Ryckman said in a text message to The Star.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has also expressed an interest in the idea.

Obviously, the best outcome in this for the Chiefs involves a bidding war between two states that doesn’t require them to change metro areas. There are still several years before a move can be made, but the failure of Question 1 on Tuesday could be seen as the opening bell of a fight between local governments.