EDWARDSVILLE, Kan. — The Mayor of Edwardsville said the Chiefs coming to Wyandotte County, Kansas, could be a benefit.
Edwardsville is less than a 10-minute drive from where the Chiefs are supposed to build their new stadium near 126th and State in Kansas City, Kansas.
Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid told Josh Simmons to leave team meeting; reports
Mayor and Republican State House Rep. Carolyn Caiharr did not become a state lawmaker until September of 2025. She actually voted against the 2026 bill that created the ownership structure for the Chiefs’ new stadium. That dome would go in her current state house district.
She said her neighbors are concerned about the influx of visitors coming, the increased need for public safety and who’s going to foot the bill.
“I think it could be a benefit,” Caiharr responded when asked if she wanted the Chiefs coming. “But it depends on the negotiations moving forward, and so I believe that a lot of people in Topeka are now paying attention to Wyandotte County and not necessarily the government in Wyandotte County but the people in Wyandotte County, and so if we can get that conversation moved to negotiate on behalf of the people who actually live here to help the lives of the people who are going to be living right near the stadium, that’s going to be a win moving forward, but there’s a lot of work to be done to get down that path.”
Caiharr is concerned that county residents will not see property tax relief with the team coming. Edwardsville, Kansas, is a separate entity from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas (UG).
FOX4 spoke with Caiharr just three days after the UG and the state of Kansas announced the lawsuit the county had filed against the state had been resolved.
Caiharr did not know what changed between Kansas and the UG to resolve the county’s concerns. In the state news release sent out Friday, leaders said that that the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and Evergy will provide electric services to the stadium. BPU will provide the utilities outside of it.
UG Mayor and CEO Christal Watson said her entity’s been trying to keep residents and the metropolitan area at large informed about the Chiefs’ stadium project. In an interview with FOX4 Monday, she added that viewers should “stay tuned.”
“I can say that we are positively working together,” Mayor Watson said. “I appreciate the partnership that we’ve been able to enhance with the state and absolutely enjoy the relationship we’re building with the Kansas City Chiefs.”
The team still plans to be in their new stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, by August of 2031.
