Travis Kelce Breaks His Silence on 'Heartbreaking' Chiefs Decision

For over 50 years, the Kansas City Chiefs have played their home games in the legendary Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri. However, in the coming years, the team will be moving to a new home in a different state, and superstar tight end Travis Kelce offered his take on the move.

While the Chiefs have long played in Missouri, lawmakers approved a deal last year that paves the way for the team to move to a new stadium in Kansas. While Kelce understands the business side of the move, he still thinks it is a "heartbreaking" decision.

Chiefs Moving to Kansas

Back in December, the Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council voted unanimously to approve the STAR bond and STAR bond district for the sports stadium to support the Kansas City Chiefs, paving the way for the team to move to Kansas and away from its longtime home in Arrowhead Stadium.

STAR – an abbreviation of Sales Tax and Revenue – Bonds will be used for the construction of the stadium. STAR bonds are administered to fund economic development, and up to 70% of the stadium’s construction can be paid for with revenue generated from them.

The new stadium, which will be built about 25 miles west of the current Arrowhead Stadium, is expected to be built for the 2031 season, giving the Chiefs an estimated five more seasons at their current home.

Travis Kelce Breaks His Silence

While the move has been announced for quite some time, legendary Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has broken his silence on what he admits is a "heartbreaking" decision.

While fans and players might not necessarily be happy about being on the "outskirts" of the city and moving away from their iconic home, Kelce understands the move from a business perspective.

"The owners get so much more opportunity [by] getting to the outskirts of the city, and it’s hard to argue with those opportunities," Kelce said during a recent episode of his New Heights podcast. "We’re dealing with it right now in Kansas City."

"We’re going over to Kansas, but at the same time, if you look at that deal in terms of an owner? That’s one of the greatest opportunities you could ever get as an owner," he continued. "I think it’s going to be unbelievable once it’s finally set in stone."

That said, Kelce has some negative feelings about the move, too.

"It is going to be kind of heartbreaking knowing that the Chiefs are going to move away from Arrowhead and that Missouri side of Kansas City," Kelce said. "It’s part of the old professional sports. It is a business at the end of the day."

It's worth noting that Kelce will almost certainly never play in the new stadium as it will not be built for another five years. Kelce, who pondered retirement last season, has yet to formally announce whether or not he will return to the league this season. While there is obviously a strong chance he could return once again this upcoming season, it's not realistic to think that he will play five or six more seasons with the team.

Still, his connection to the Chiefs is undeniable, and it's safe to say that he is not totally pleased with the move.