The possibility of the Kansas City Chiefs expanding to Eastern Missouri seems probable in the midst of recent moves by Stan Kroenke, which have turned him into a traitor in his home state.
Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, grew up in Mora, Missouri and attended the University of Missouri-Columbia. It naturally came to St. Louis Rams fans as a spit in the face in January when National Football League owners approved Kroenke’s request to move the team back to Los Angeles. Months later, criticism against Kroenke for not only moving the Rams but taking jabs at St. Louis as a sports town has subsided. The St. Louis Blues showed plenty of promise after a strong playoff run, and the St. Louis Cardinals have been good year in and year out, with two World Series titles in the past 10 years. The city is also a front runner for a Major League Soccer expansion team.
However, there remains an appetite for football in St. Louis, and the solution may be 250 miles down Interstate 70.
Kansas City Chiefs Expanding to Eastern Missouri
It didn’t take long for St. Louisians to change teams upon finding out the Rams were leaving. Chiefs President Mark Donovan said several people from St. Louis called inquiring about season tickets on the day of the announcement. The day after, several St. Louis corporations also called about partnering with the Chiefs.
There is a market for the Chiefs in St. Louis, and it shouldn’t be hard to win fans over given the team’s talent. With the departure of the Rams, fans in St. Louis don’t even have to rationalize their jump on to the Chiefs’ bandwagon, despite the Chiefs’ recent success. This group has suffered long enough for goodness’ sake, somehow putting up with the Rams’ 31 percent win percentage over the past 10 years. The Chiefs, however, are currently on a 10-game regular season winning streak and are AFC West favorites.
Of course, there are other suitors, including the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, and Tennessee Titans. Technically, all teams have access to St. Louis, but the Chiefs certainly have the advantage. Being in Missouri, the Chiefs are the only team that can market their corporate partnerships and brand in St. Louis.
The Chiefs’ plan to expand their kingdom into Eastern Missouri picked up speed after the league sent a memo to all NFL owners, presidents and CEOs earlier this month declaring St. Louis an open television market, and it appears that Chiefs games could be airing on St. Louis television stations as early as August.
“The league has decided that they’re going to allow any team in the NFL that can put together an adjacent network, which is really confusing and very complicated, but basically means that if you can make a chain link of networks—broadcast partners, to get you to St. Louis, then you can broadcast your games there,” Donovan said, via the Chiefs’ website. “We knew that was coming and we have been working on this for the past few months. (Vice President of Business Development) Tyler Epp and his team have already negotiated deals, so our preseason games will be broadcasted in St. Louis. The plan is to have our shoulder programming, which is all the programming you see on our network, in St. Louis this season as well.”
Due to the small size of the community, it’s also unrealistic to believe St. Louis will get another NFL team, and the Chiefs’ footprint will likely be permanent. If a plan to bring football back to St. Louis for some reason does develop, it will be awhile before it comes to fruition. There was an eight-year gap between the time the now Arizona Cardinals left and the Rams arrived. But don’t count on another chance, St. Louis; now is the perfect time to join Chiefs Kingdom.
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