Arrowhead Stadium, opened in the fall of 1972 and home of the Kansas City Chiefs for 54 years, will stop being the NFL giant’s home venue by 2031. From hosting the NFL’s loudest crowd (and winning a Guinness World Record for it) to witnessing some of the Chiefs’ most iconic victories, Arrowhead had it all. But with the tough decision to depart the stadium in Missouri for a new $3 billion home comes another surprise: The Chiefs won’t take the Arrowhead name to its new home.

“I think the name itself is something that we respectfully feel like makes more sense to stay here,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said on Thursday in the stadium’s news conference room, according to The Athletic.

This comes just days after Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt affirmed the same to FOX4. The reason? The team wanted to honor the Arrowhead legacy for fans.

“I don’t think we’ll call it Arrowhead. But we wanted to make sure there were enough elements in the design that reminds every fan who has attended a game at Arrowhead about what a great stadium that is,” said Hunt. “We really want to honor the legacy of Arrowhead, and we know how important Arrowhead is to our fans.”

In Donovan’s update, came another positive sign. He mentioned outreach from companies interested in the new stadium’s naming-rights deal has been “really positive” and “probably more than expected.” He also said that the companies are looking at the stadium “as a blank canvas,” with the Chiefs wanting to create something that enhances “the fan’s experience.”

Arrowhead Stadium holds the Chiefs’ modern legacy, with key memorabilia and trophies, including those from their three Super Bowl wins in the past seven years. The stadium is also the oldest in the AFC.

However, this is not the first time that a name change will happen to the Chiefs’ stadium, new or old. The Chiefs signed a naming-rights deal in 2021 with the Government Employees Health Association, with the new name being ‘GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium’. But it was renamed Arrowhead in August.

Donovan said that part of reverting to the original name was “one of the ways to celebrate” the stadium that has just five more years to give to the team. But the Chiefs haven’t ruled out a backup, as they have filed trademarks for a few Arrowhead-related names just to keep their options open.

Although the stadium was once again renamed “Kansas City Stadium” for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with FIFA hosting six matches there, locals continued to refer to the iconic stadium as Arrowhead. The name not only carries the accolades and trophies, but also the ownership legacy. The Chiefs’ founder, the late Lamar Hunt, first named it Arrowhead to reflect the team’s Native American identity, and his family has continued his legacy of owning and managing the team.

His son, Clark Hunt, had earlier said that the decision to move was taken because the Chiefs wanted to build a stadium for the next era of the sport and the team, and that it was “the best thing for the organization.” He wanted to build something that could “last 50 or 60 years,” as Arrowhead has done, and host huge games like the Super Bowl or the World Cup games.

Now, the focus is entirely on building the $3 billion home, and the team is looking to honor the old facility before departing for the new one.

The Chiefs Will Retain the Iconic Arrowhead Stadium Feel at New Kansas Home

The Chiefs released the new stadium’s renderings on July 22. Part of Arrowhead’s identity has been its many activities for fans and a different way of hosting games, from crowd involvement to tents and barbeques, letting fans enjoy games to the fullest.

The franchise wants to hold on to that feeling, and that’s why it has chosen to keep certain elements of the old stadium. Starting with the design, it will have a curved exterior, like Arrowhead, with a capacity of 70,000 fans. Though it is almost 6,000 fewer than Arrowhead, the Chiefs have hired audio engineers to enhance the crowd noise.

This has been done to keep the Chiefs fanbase’s unique flex as the loudest NFL crowd ever. On Sept. 19, 2014, the crowd went as loud as 142.2 decibels during the Chiefs’ 41-14 win against the New England Patriots.

The Chiefs are also finally going with a closed-dome stadium, with the roof enclosed in translucent ETFE panels, but fans will still be able to see the famous pre-game flyovers.

Not only that, but the stadium will also include a seating bowl, with fans being able to experience the Chiefs Hall of Honor, which will be more than double the size of the current one, with the pre-game Drum Deck ceremony and the Chiefs Ring of Honor above the bowl, marking all traditional values of the franchise.

Apart from the stadium, the franchise is also building a $300 million practice facility and team headquarters in Olathe, along with $1.2 billion in privately funded ancillary developments.

Mark Donovan said the “initial response” to the renderings was “one of the most satisfying things” for them, to “see that it really did resonate and (fans) appreciate it.”

Though fans have appreciated the renderings, Donovan says that they still don’t have any idea what the stadium name would be, as they are still “way, way early in the process.”

On the 2026 season front, the Chiefs started their journey with a 31-10 Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos and will play the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.