Legislation that would designate the Kansas City Chiefs as Missouri’s official professional football team has been heard by a state Senate committee in Jefferson City.
Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz speaks to Capitol reporters on November 8, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)
State Sen. Kiki Curls, D-Kansas City, testifies the Chiefs are one of professional football’s most renowned franchises.
“Coming to Kansas City in 1963, they have remained in Kansas City and here in Missouri for 56 years,” Curls says. “Longer than any other NFL team in our state.”
Senator Curls says the team’s name comes from former Kansas City Mayor Harold Roe Bartle, who was nicknamed “The Chief” and helped bring the Chiefs to Kansas City.
Curls testified last week before the Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee, which could vote on her concurrent resolution this week.
Curls says her bill demonstrates the franchise’s importance to the community. She testifies that Arrowhead Stadium on game days is louder than a jet.
“Kansas City loves our Chiefs. We’re one of the biggest tailgating teams in the country, and is considered the loudest stadium in the world,” says Curls.
Chiefs lobbyist Rich AuBuchon testified in favor of the legislation, as did a representative from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in Kansas City. There was no opposition to the bill at the hearing.
During the hearing, Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, told Senator Curls he would like to get Chiefs Pro Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes to the Missouri Capitol this year to testify about the bill.
Mahomes, who’s representing the AFC in today’s Pro Bowl in Orlando, threw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns this season. Schatz describes Mahomes as a “fantastic asset for our state and just a dynamic athlete,” and tells Missourinet he’d like to see Mahomes in Jefferson City.
“I think it would be fantastic for the opportunity to have him come and represent the Chiefs here, it would be a great opportunity for us (the Senate) and a chance for us to get to meet him,” Schatz says.
Curls tells Senator Schatz she hopes to get Chiefs players to Jefferson City, if the bill passes committee and goes to the Senate floor.
Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, which was recorded on January 22, 2019 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City: