Renovations to Arrowhead Stadium are scheduled to cost $800 million

The renovation of GEHA Stadium at Arrowhead Stadium is scheduled to cost $800 million, $300 million of which will be paid by the Hunt family.

“This is an important public-private partnership,” Kansas City Chiefs President Mark Donovan said.

Leaders hope the 3/8 cent sales tax will pass when Jackson County, Missouri, votes on it on April 2. It is unclear how the plans will proceed if residents vote against them.

“We need to cross that bridge, in order to continue to move forward with this project,” Donovan said.

Construction will begin in 2027, allowing time to make the stadium modifications needed to bring it up to FIFA specifications for World Cup play.

Then the refurbished Arrowhead will be ready for the Games in 2030 or 2031.

Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman was on hand at Wednesday's unveiling — along with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Jackson County Executive Frank White, who was a second baseman on the Royals' All-Star team.

After the baseball team and the Chiefs' current neighbor announced their plan to move downtown at the old site of the Kansas City StarSome thought the Chiefs would use the vacated Kauffman Stadium space for an entertainment district.

After all, this is the wave of the future in the NFL.

Dallas Cowboys Al-Najma area It is considered the gold standard of the league. The property contains a 12,000-seat practice facility also used by high school teams, 19 restaurants, a hotel, a cigar bar, a spa, and multiple stores.

However, since the 1970s, not much has been built near the Chiefs and Royals stadiums.

“Right now, in this market, this is not a location worth developing,” Donovan said. “This is the reality from a business standpoint.”

Donovan also indicated that he did not want to compete with the Royals and their plans to create a strong entertainment district downtown.

However, the additional space will allow for more back and forth parking. The former Kauffman Stadium area will become a turf-covered activation area designed for tailgate games and outdoor theatrical performances.

“Tracking will improve,” Donovan said.

The new parking deck will allow team members a more private space downstairs, and the upstairs deck will help provide an additional 3,000 parking spaces. Pedestrian bridges and a designated ride-sharing area are also supposed to make it easier to get to and from the stadium.

Putting a dome on Arrowhead, which would make hosting a Super Bowl more possible, was never seriously considered.

Playing overseas has been a huge advantage on the field as evidenced by the Chiefs' last win at home – a 26-7 win over the Miami Dolphins, which was The fourth coldest game in NFL history.

“Our football team loves to play in the elements,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. “They love playing on a grass field. We definitely think it's a competitive advantage for us.”

Hunt also stipulated that the new stadium must exceed 70,000 spectators in seating capacity, although many new stadiums approach 65,000.

“I'm personally very sensitive to making sure Arrowhead Stadium remains one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL,” Hunt said.

The new stadium will feature more suites and end zone clubs modeled after those at Allegiant Stadium.

The current video boards are ranked in the bottom 25% of the league. The size of the eastern panel will be increased four times, and the area of ​​the western panel will be increased three-fold.

The updated facility will also include improved Wi-Fi, an overhead lobby canopy, 170 new restrooms and more than 120 food and beverage concessions.

More importantly, the Chiefs stuck around after early rumors surfaced about considering a move to Kansas State.

“We always knew we wanted to stay here,” Hunt said. “With the right improvements, GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium will remain the landmark it is today.”