Arrowhead has been the Kansas City Chiefs‘ home since 1972, a stadium synonymous with deafening crowds and a genuine home-field advantage. But the team will move to neighbouring Kansas in 2031, officially changing the team’s address for good. Former Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil, who spent five seasons at the helm, is a little hesitant about the Chiefs’ move.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“Well, it’s all part of progress, as we all know, and that’s not a brilliant statement,” Dick Vermeil said on Arrowhead Allies. “I know I would be against it just because I think it represents the roots and foundation of the National Football League, starting with Lamar Hunt. That football stadium is Lamar Hunt. His statue’s around in the front. No matter where they move it, it’ll never be the same.
“But it’ll be very, very good. But Clark is not going to do anything that isn’t good for the Kansas City Chiefs organization and for the city and the community and both states. So, yeah, I think it’s disappointing for everybody.”
Lamar Hunt moved the Dallas Texans to Kansas City and rebranded it to the modern Kansas City Chiefs, a turning point for the formerly unknown location. The Arrowhead became synonymous with the team and eventually became the heart of the city’s sports culture. But this departure will mark the third team to leave Kansas City’s sporting history.
Lamar has some special memories of his own of the Arrowhead, including those with his father. The two wanted to see the venue eventually host the FIFA World Cup someday (Clark Hunt was a huge soccer fan). However, Clark passed away before the dream could be realized. Lamar Hunt made sure to honor it when FIFA did come to Arrowhead this summer for the 2026 World Cup.
“We have so many fond memories as a family attending World Cups together. And to have games in his favorite place on earth, Arrowhead Stadium, will be very, very meaningful for me and my family.”
However, another thing is also clear: Clark Hunt is not ending his father’s legacy with the new stadium; he’s continuing it.
The Chiefs are going full steam ahead with their move to the new stadium. Fans already got their first real look at what’s coming when renderings for the new $3 billion stadium in Kansas dropped this past July, and it’s clear the team isn’t trying to erase its past so much as reimagine it.
Design firm MANICA, based in Kansas City, is behind the build. The standout feature is a fully enclosed roof made of translucent ethylene tetrafluoroethylene panels. It is a marked departure from the open-roofed Arrowhead. In a move to keep the Chiefs in Missouri, Governor Mike Kehoe proposed adding a retractable dome to the iconic stadium.
Despite going indoors, the design leans hard into nostalgia. The curved, symmetrical exterior and that scalloped upper deck in each end zone are direct nods to Arrowhead.
Money-wise, this is a massive undertaking. Kansas lawmakers unanimously approved STAR bonds in late December 2025 to cover up to 70 percent of the total cost of the project. Clark Hunt and his family are chipping in an additional $1 billion of their own.
As for what fans can expect inside, Hunt said in a statement released by the Chiefs that the new building will seat 70,000 people and has actually been engineered to make the crowd louder. There’s also room for more than 20,000 parking spots outside.
Hunt didn’t stop at the numbers; he made sure to frame the project around what it means for the people showing up on game day.
“From the beginning, our goal has been to build something that [improves] the gameday experience for every single fan,” Hunt said in the statement. “This new stadium will do just that. It’s spectacular. It honors the rich legacy of this franchise while setting a bold course for the future of Chiefs Kingdom.”
A few other details paint a picture of just how much bigger this place will be. The Ring of Honor is moving above the new seating bowl, the Hall of Honor is doubling in size, and the team store will be roughly four times larger than what fans have now.