KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TO BUILD NEW STADIUM WITHOUT ARROWHEAD NAME

The Kansas City Chiefs will relocate from Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri to a new facility set to open before the 2031 season, Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt announced on 10 September. Hunt stated the team would not retain the Arrowhead name for the new stadium, though he said the design would include elements to honour the legacy of the current venue. The Chiefs have played at Arrowhead Stadium since 1972 and won three Super Bowls there in the past seven years. The new stadium is reported to carry a construction cost of approximately $3 billion.

Hunt said the team wished to ensure fans remembered what Arrowhead Stadium represented and acknowledged the venue's importance to supporters. Arrowhead Stadium's naming rights have been subject to change in recent years: the Chiefs signed a deal in 2021 with the Government Employees Health Association to rename it GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which was reverted to its original name last month. FIFA also renamed the stadium "Kansas City Stadium" for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, for which six matches are scheduled to take place there. The name Arrowhead was established by Lamar Hunt, the Chiefs' founder, to align with the team's Native American motif.

The announcement has prompted reaction from supporters. Some fans criticised the decision not to retain the Arrowhead name, with online responses characterising the plan as a mistake. The current stadium is known among supporters and commentators for its atmosphere, which has been compared to college football venues in terms of intensity and crowd involvement.