In order to make sure voters in his city could get to the polls to cast their ballots, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes helped foot the bill to open Arrowhead Stadium as a voting site.
Mahomes, 25, split the cost of 25 voting machines and 30 poll workers at the stadium with his team, according to The Washington Post.
“I thought it was very important. Not only just to get as many people out to vote as possible, but also to use a place [such] as Arrowhead where we have a lot of fun, show a lot of love and unity with people coming together, and use it as a place where we can come together to vote and use our voice,” Mahomes, who indicated this was the first time he was voting, told the Huddle & Flow podcast.
Thanks to the efforts of his quarterback, Kansas City coach Andy Reid was among about a dozen people waiting in line to vote early Tuesday morning just after the polls opened, according to The Associated Press.
“I think it’s neat that they were able to do it right here at the stadium,” Reid said. “There were a lot of things that had to go right to get that done. A lot of it had to do with the players, first of all having a plan, second of all presenting it to management and ownership and then those people in ownership and management supporting it.”
Overall, 33 pro sports venues across seven leagues — NBA (14), NHL (10), NFL (9), WNBA (5), MLB (4), MLS (2), NWSL (1) — were used as polling locations on Election Day.
On Wednesday, Mahomes won “Player of the Week” honors for his efforts on Sunday. Against the Jets, the Super Bowl MVP completed 31 of 42 passes for 416 yards and five touchdowns in a blowout win.
Through eight weeks of play, Mahomes ranks second in the NFL in passing yards (2,315), passing touchdowns (21) and passer rating (115.0). He is the only player in the NFL to rank in the top three in each category and has led Kansas City to a 7-1 record thus far.
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