K.C. keeps Chiefs, but loses Super Bowl

Kansas City apparently won’t be getting that promised Super Bowl, but it won’t be losing its Chiefs either.

Jackson County (Mo.) voters approved a 3/8-cent sales tax measure on April 4 to pay for $575 million worth of renovations for Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums but rejected a $202 million proposal for a rolling roof that would have assured Kansas City of playing host to Super Bowl XLIX in February 2015.

In response, the Chiefs and baseball’s Royals signed 25-year leases that run through 2031. Had the measure failed, the teams would have been free to leave Jan. 1.

“With the modernization, the Chiefs will be competitive within the NFL,” Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt said.

Hunt, who came up with the Super Bowl name when watching his daughter play with her Super Ball in the late 1960s, hasn’t given up his dream of a rolling roof for his 34-year-old stadium.

“I would hope the dream of the rolling roof and the Super Bowl for Kansas City can be kept alive,” Hunt said of his then-revolutionary concept, first proposed in the 1970s only to have the county come about $2 million short of the necessary funding.

The proposed 20-story tall structure would be the world’s largest movable roof, covering 13.5 acres and weighing 15 million pounds. Resembling a ridged potato chip, the roof would slide between the stadiums on hundreds of 3-foot wheels along raised tracks in the event of rain or snow. On nice days, it would cover the parking lot between the stadiums. It would take about 15 minutes to slide into place to cover one of the stadiums. The roof would be an arched, steel-trussed structure, topped by a stretched, Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric. There would be radiant infrared heaters in the concourses, while warm air would be blown through new heating ducts to the seating sections. The entire process of sealing and heating the stadium would take two days.

Renovation of Arrowhead will begin after this season so there’s still time for another vote on the roof in November, but once the actual construction begins, it will be too late.

“It’s two different designs with or without the roof,” Hunt said.

Roof or not, the Chiefs are out as a candidate to fill the NFL’s 11-year-old void in Los Angeles. And so are the Jacksonville Jaguars, even though as of April 1 only 60 percent of season-ticket holders had renewed despite last year’s 12-4 record and an attractive home schedule that includes the Steelers, Patriots, Cowboys and Giants. Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver adamantly denied that he’ll take advantage of a clause in his lease and skedaddle after paying a penalty to the city of between $40 million and $50 million.

“Jacksonville is not going to L.A.,” Weaver said firmly. “We’re not a contender for L.A.”

Carter to Canada — Quarterback Quincy Carter, out of football last year after testing positive for marijuana during Dallas’ training camp in 2004, is back — sort of. Carter, who quarterbacked the Cowboys to the playoffs in 2003, signed a 1-year deal with Montreal of the CFL.

“I made a mistake,” Carter told the Dallas Morning News. “I’m excited about getting a fresh start with Montreal and I want to put the things in the past behind me. When you walk around and people think you’re on cocaine or bipolar, that hurts. None of that was the case. I had some issues, but I’ve worked on them, and I’m happy about the way I’ve picked myself up and faced my situation.”

Carter spent a portion of last year at former NBA star/coach John Lucas’ treatment center in Houston.

Beltway Rivalry — Ravens coach Brian Billick on ‘Balmer’ vs. D.C.: “Our fans have a huge rivalry with Washington. But Washington thinks Baltimore is somewhere in upper Wisconsin [like] there’s nothing between them and Philly.”

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