Chiefs expect record-breaking training camp attendance in 2023
21 July 2023
SAINT JOSEPH, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs front office has a lot to balance in the next decade.
With all of the Chiefs’ success on the field, there are also some important benchmarks the Chiefs need to do surrounding the organization.
With their Jackson County Sports Complex lease partner, the Kansas City Royals, looking to build a new stadium outside of the complex, many have wondered what the Chiefs will do when the Royals move.
Chiefs president Mark Donovan said the club will make renovating Arrowhead Stadium a priority above all.
“If everything plays out the way we think it’s gonna play out, our preference for us is to upgrade and renovate the stadium that arrived and make GEHA Field even better,” Donovan said.
There are three options for Arrowhead: renovate, build a new stadium on-site or build a new stadium somewhere else.
But it will take “significant financial investment” to keep Arrowhead structurally sound.
“There are certain days when you get that phone call, it’s like, ‘Hey, we just found this. Might be an issue, right?'” Donovan said.
“And when you’re talking about a core sample of cement that was poured in 1970, those issues are, they could be significant, and they could factor into the decision.”
“So headed towards doing what we want to do, making good progress towards that,” Donovan added. “Still a lot of work to do and still a lot of due diligence to do as it relates to the Royals and their decision.”
Donovan also said the Chiefs plan to be ready for an April sales tax vote when Jackson County voters could decide whether they want to extend the 3/8ths cent sales tax that currently goes to improvements for Kauffman Stadium and GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs must balance all this along with renovating Arrowhead to be compliant for the 2026 World Cup.
“It’s gonna be a challenge, and it’s gonna be a 3- or 4-year challenge as we roll this out,” Donovan said.
“But we’ve got a good plan. We’ve got good options. We’ve got some areas we can pivot. We’re working with FIFA very closely and obviously a great local organizing committee. They’re well aware of the challenges that come with that. But I think the more we’ve looked at it, the less I think there’s ways to really take too much advantage of it because of the timing.”
And Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt has put a little pressure on Donovan and his team to make everything work.
Donovan said Hunt told him this:
“We need to host the World Cup because of what it is and what it can do for this region. We need to make sure that every single Chiefs fan has the exact same experience in ’24, ’25, ’26, and ’27. So figure it out.”
“It’s going to be a challenge to get there, but that’s, that’s how we’re approaching it,” Donovan said.
It’s an approach that the whole city must undertake to provide a quality experience for the 2026 World Cup.