The Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals still have a few years left on their lease at the Truman Sports Complex. The lease runs through 2031. But with the Chiefs expected to relocate to Kansas and the Royals planning to move out of Kauffman Stadium, the bigger question is already shifting. What happens to the complex after that?

Jackson County is not waiting to find out. This week, County Executive Phil LeVota announced plans to form a task force focused on reimagining the future of the site. The goal is clear. Avoid letting a major piece of land sit unused once both teams leave.

“As we look ahead and recognize that neither team will remain at the sports complex in a few years, it is my responsibility to make sure that the 400 acres of prime county-owned land is not going to sit idle,” LeVota said.

The proposed task force is expected to include 10 to 15 business leaders, developers, and community stakeholders. They will have a 90-day window to present recommendations, although the final list of members has not been confirmed yet.

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LeVota’s broader vision goes beyond a quick financial fix. He wants the area to remain active, with space for small businesses, local investment, and long-term economic growth. That vision also leaves the future of the stadiums open. They could be repurposed, or they could be demolished entirely.

“The easy process is to just sign up a data center, make the county a bunch of money and call it a day. But I want Jackson County to think bigger,” Levota added. “I want that area to be a vibrant, economically driven space that contributes to the financial engine of the region and for the benefit of Jackson County residents for years to come.”

This planning effort comes on the heels of a major shift. The Chiefs announced in December that they will leave Arrowhead Stadium once their lease expires in 2031. It’ll end a long-standing chapter in Missouri, considering the franchise has been playing at Arrowhead for decades.

The franchise is now preparing to move into a new $3 billion domed stadium across the Kansas-Missouri state line.

According to ESPN’s Nate Taylor, Kansas lawmakers have already approved the use of STAR bonds to cover up to 70 percent of the project. Those bonds, estimated at around $2.4 billion, will be repaid through sales and liquor tax revenue generated in the surrounding district.

As that happened, the Kansas Legislature has already started building the legal framework.

“Kansas legislators have begun evaluating the Kansas Sports Facility Authority Act, a bill designed to oversee the construction, financing, and management of sports facilities, including the planned $3 billion domed stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs in the Village West District of Kansas City, Kansas,” theKCscene reported on social media a few weeks ago.

With that transition underway, attention naturally shifts back to the future of the Truman Sports Complex. And with a task force already in motion, Jackson County is not waiting until 2031 to figure it out.

Jackson County released renderings for the future of the Truman Sports Complex

Jackson County has already started visualizing what the future of the Truman Sports Complex could look like once the Chiefs move out of Arrowhead Stadium. Right now, the area is largely surrounded by parking lots. In the proposed vision, those spaces could be transformed into a mix of shops, tennis courts, an amphitheater, and other entertainment hubs.

“This area has seen underinvestment for a long time,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said. “Not here to be retrospective as to how it happened, but we’re making sure the Blue Valley industrial area, the Leeds area, the stadiums area themselves, have opportunity for real long-term growth for our entire region.”

At this stage, the task force is expected to evaluate how redevelopment could extend beyond the complex itself. It will potentially integrate nearby neighborhoods west of the stadiums into the plan.

Once that groundwork is in place, the county plans to bring in an independent consultant to develop a structured redevelopment framework. From there, a master redevelopment commission will be appointed to oversee the project over five years, ensuring continuity and long-term direction.

“This is about getting it right, and I’m not going to let decisions like this be driven by short-term pressure,” LeVota added. “They must be driven by long-term value for the people of Jackson County. That’s my responsibility, and I take that seriously.”

That said, the shift is already underway. What was once centered around game days is now being reimagined as a year-round destination. And if the vision holds, the next phase of the Complex could end up defining the area long after the teams have moved on.