Kansas stadium renderings a clever attempt to lure the Chiefs from Missouri

The Kansas Legislature finished its session on Tuesday without bringing the recently discussed STAR Bond proposal meant to lure the Kansas City Chiefs from Missouri to the floor. They're expected to try again in the future, but the wheels are already in motion with Kansas making it clear they're serious about bringing either the Chiefs, Royals, or both teams across the border.

Part of that includes recently released conceptual renderings, showing what a Chiefs stadium near The Legends and Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County could look like.

These conceptual renderings, designed by David Manica of Manica Architecture, aren't commissioned by the team, but rather from an unnamed developer seeking to sway the team to move across state lines. While no design instruction came from the organization, Manica seems to take some design cues from what the Chiefs are looking for in a new or renovated stadium.

When the team announced their "Arrowhead Reimagined" designs ahead of the failed 3/8-cent tax vote in Jackson County, Chiefs team president Mark Donovan spoke about some new NFL stadiums that influenced those design renderings. One of those was Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, home of their rival Raiders, where Kansas City just won Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers.

Manica's firm designed Allegiant Stadium, and it's easy to see some of the similarities in features and construction.

They also do a good job of paying homage to team history, which will be a major part of any new stadium construction.

There is also the allure of a domed stadium and how the Chiefs could eventually be chosen to host a Super Bowl. Cold-weather teams that play outdoors aren't often chosen to host the big game, with Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in February 2014 being the only one of note.

Outside of securing the funding, the biggest hurdle left for Kansas is convincing the Chiefs to entertain the idea. To this point, Chiefs CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt says there have been no conversations with state officials in Kansas about a new stadium and moving the team.

“We have not," Hunt said during the 2024 NFL draft. "We’ve been pretty focused the last three weeks on the draft. But we know we need to turn our attention back to the stadium front here in the coming months.”

Hunt maintains that renovating and staying at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium is still an option for the club. He also realizes that they need to act quickly in both the case of building a new stadium and renovating the old.

“Stadium development projects take a long time," Hunt said. "I don’t want to put a specific number on it, but with only six and a half years left on the lease, we’re going to have to work very hard over the next year, year-and-a-half to see if we can find an option.”

A decision on the Chiefs' future won't be made in haste, but it's coming sooner than you might think. By this time next year, a plan for the team's future home could already be in motion.

Related: Deadline for key decision on Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney coming on Thursday