Chiefs owner Clark Hunt believes new stadium will honor franchise’s past
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KMIZ)
Modern, innovative and built to last is how Chiefs owner Clark Hunt described his franchise's new stadium to reporters on Thursday, just a little more than week after the first renderings were released to the public.
The stadium, which is set to be built in Kansas, has been the source of some controversy within Chiefs Kingdom, as the Kansas City has played on the Show-Me side of the border for the past 63 years. However, during a press conference with media members, Hunt said he believes the newly-built home of the Chiefs will please the fanbase.
"We think it does a great job of recognizing the franchise's past and Arrowhead while combining it with the stadium," he said.
You can watch the full press conference with Hunt in the video player below.
The Chiefs won't be playing in that new stadium for a handful of years, as construction isn't set to be complete until the 2031 season. But, that also means that the Hunt family has just five years to say goodbye to a stadium that has meant so much to the family.
The iconic outdoor stadium represents quite a bit for the Hunt, including a family legacy and lots of personal memories, as the family owns an apartment inside of the stadium. The team's late founder, Lamar Hunt, even called it his favorite place on Earth.
"Leaving Arrowhead's not a small decision and we're going to really cherish these five years. You know, it's a special place and will always we'll have a special place in our heart. We're going to appreciate every moment in the building, but at the same time, we're equally excited about the new building because we think it's going to be special, and it will be a place that our fans, over time, will really come to love," Hunt said.
The team's newly-built stadium will open up quite a bit of opportunities for the franchise, including hosting Super Bowls and more.
"As we've gone through the design process, obviously, most importantly, we want to design something that's great for Chiefs football and the Chiefs Kingdom. But, in the back of our mind on every decision is, 'okay, how would this facility work for a Super Bowl? How would this facility work for a Final Four? How would this facility work for a future World Cup?,'" Hunt said. "We're thinking about all that and trying to incorporate as many features and as much space as you would need to have those type of events."
Speaking of space, there will be a lot of it in that new Chiefs stadium.
Around the league, other new stadium are trending towards overall smaller capacities. Previously, the average capacity of NFL stadiums was around 72,000 seats, but has downsized to an average of 65,000. That includes Kansas City's AFC rival, the Buffalo Bills, as the club is building a new Highmark Stadium, which will hold between 60,100 to 62,000 seats.
However, for Hunt, keeping a larger capacity was important in this design process. The $3 billion project will hold about 70,000 seats, overall.
"That's a debate we've had internally. Definitely, the trend with new stadiums is to go much smaller. I've always been proud of the capacity of Arrowhead. I think it's one of the things that that sets it apart. It's an asset when you get to host AFC Championship games or you get to host World Cup games, so keeping that capacity in the 70,000 level was important to me," he said.
The owner of the Chiefs also touched on some of the design aspects of the new stadium, including the innovative translucent roof. You can find a rendering of what that will look like below, courtesy of the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Pretty early in the decision process, we decided to go with a fixed roof and that that was for several reasons. First of all, I've been in many retractable roof stadiums and the roof has never retracted. And if you ask the operators, they'll tell you that they may be retract the roof for one or two games during the season," Hunt said. "What I've noticed about those facilities is when they have the roof open, you're not seeing much sky, right? The open part of the roof ends up being very small. Part of the experience of coming to achieve game is enjoying the flyovers that we're so blessed to have with Whiteman Air Force Base, so close. And so we wanted to design something that would give our fans the best opportunity to see those flyovers. It's part of the reason why we have glass in both end zones, so our fans can see the planes on approach and after they've flown over, and then we wanted the translucent roof where they would be able to see the flyover it as it goes past. So, that's how we ended up with that design."
One of the bigger advantages of putting a roof of your stadium, now-a-days, is - of course - the ability to host a Super Bowl. That's a big picture plan for the Chiefs, down the road. However, this year's Kansas City squad is just looking to get back to the playoffs, first.
Hunt said he has no doubt in his mind that the lackluster 2025 season, where the team missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade, was a blip. In fact, they don't even thinks about it.
"Obviously, last year was disappointing for all of us, but sometimes that happens, sometimes injuries happen and you've got to be able to bounce back. We had a year early in Andy's tenure where we didn't make the playoffs and it was disappointing. You know, there was a lot of concern at the end of that season, you know, and some questions about whether Andy should continue to be the coach of the Chiefs. Fortunately, we made that decision that we thought he had a bright future and he certainly lived up to that. I just think Andy's a special coach. He's a Hall of Fame coach. He has an incredible staff," Hunt said. "I'm very optimistic that the team is going to bounce back."
