Chiefs envision playing at Arrowhead Stadium ‘another 25 years,’ waiting on Royals’ decision before they act

If the Kansas City Chiefs have it their way, the franchise would prefer to renovate and upgrade Arrowhead Stadium. Of course, that’s contingent on another professional sports franchise in Kansas City. 

The Kansas City Royals are co-tenants with the Chiefs in the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex, and could be leaving for a new location in a new proposed ballpark district at the end of the summer. The Royals plan on moving downtown, leaving a vacant Kauffman Stadium and an uncertain future of Arrowhead Stadium in the process. 

Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt believes the franchise can make it work with renovating Arrowhead, keeping the Chiefs where they belong. 

“We do feel optimistic about that,” Hunt said to reporters Sunday. “We spent a couple years studying the structural integrity of the stadium and earlier this year, we preliminarily concluded that GEHA Field at Arrowhead could be renovated and extend the life up to another 25 years.”

These are the three options for the Chiefs pending on what the Royals decide: renovate the existing Arrowhead Stadium, build a new stadium on the existing land or build a new a stadium at a new location.

“All three options are still on the table,” Hunt said. “But we’re working hard behind the scenes to try to get into a position where if the Royals make a decision later this summer — as they said they’re going to do. We’ll be in the position to go with them if they decide to go with a public vote.”

Chiefs president Mark Donovan said he’d also rather renovate Arrowhead Stadium than build a new one. The stadium is one of the hosts for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and will have to renovate to make the field playable for soccer (so a renovation is coming anyway). Their lease in the Truman Sports Complex lasts until 2031. 

The Chiefs could make some alterations to Arrowhead if it stays. Could a dome be a possibility? 

“Certainly a benefit of a dome stadium is that you are weather protected, which does give you the ability to host more events,” Hunt said. “You know we’ve seen that, whether it’s SoFi [Stadium] or AT&T Stadium, they host a lot of events. 

“I would point out that GEHA Field at Arrowhead is hosting a lot of events this summer, and we’re expecting to have a very busy summer next year. So not having a roof doesn’t preclude having many of those events, but certainly if you have a roof, you possibly could do more during the winter.”