Clark Hunt and Mark Donovan Speak on Chiefs’ Future at Arrowhead

Posted July 22, 2024

As the Kansas City Chiefs continue with their days at training camp, the question still on everyone’s minds is where the franchise will play after the lease with Arrowhead Stadium expires.

The Chiefs’ lease for Arrowhead Stadium expires in January of 2031, just over six years.

On Monday, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt spoke at the team training camp to answer questions about where the Chiefs’ future lies. He was asked where the franchise stands in regards to whether the team will continue to play at Arrowhead or find a different stadium, possibly in Kansas.

“At this point, that’s premature. We do have six-and-a-half years left on our lease at GEHA Field at Arrowhead,” Hunt said.

“GEHA Field at Arrowhead is a special place. It’s special for our fans and it’s special for the players and coaches, but we do have to look to the future. We do need a solution starting in 2031, which I know that (President) Mark (Donovan) mentioned (that) we’re glad to have some options. We really appreciate what the Kansas legislature did in passing the upgrade to the STAR Bond deal that potentially would give us an opportunity to look at a stadium over there. We’re going to work very hard over the coming months and years to come up with a solution that makes sense for the organization, for the team, but also one that makes sense for the community. So, we’re approaching it very much with an open mind and look forward to talking to leaders on both sides of the state line.”

While the franchise is not ready to announce any updates, Hunt did stress that he and his team are focused on finding a solution to keep the Chiefs in the metro.

For now, however, the team is adamant about finishing the preparations for GEHA Field at Arrowhead in time for the World Cup 2026, Hunt said. 

“We started that process right after this past football season. We did some things that I would describe more as infrastructure that will need to support the field. We’re in the design phase on what we’ll have to ultimately do to the bowl to accommodate the larger soccer field. That construction process will start immediately after the football season next year. It’ll go throughout the offseason and then we’ll pick it up in the winter/spring of 2026 to complete what needs to be done.”

On Friday, Chiefs president Mark Donovan also spoke to the media and was asked similar questions about a stadium solution.

“Yeah, we’ll seriously consider all options, absolutely,” Donovan said.

“I think when you’re talking about deadlines, really the deadline is how can you be up and running in a new facility or a renovated facility for the 2031 season, right? Those are two different timelines, right? If you are renovating GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, you’re looking at an existing structure, it’s something we’ve done a lot of work on, so it’s a little bit smaller lead time you need there. If you’re building something new, either in Missouri or in Kanas, it extends that lead time by about a year and a half. We feel like we’re in that window right now, we feel like it we need to get something done in the next six months to figure out and be in a good position.”