“We have named our stadium ‘Arrowhead,” Lamar Hunt declared 56 years ago. The Chiefs’ popularity had grown beyond their meager Municipal Stadium size. They had commissioned a larger stadium, one whose name Hunt had declared felt like the perfect symbolic name for a team called the Chiefs. 

And that name stuck, with everything the team did. Arrowhead Army and Arrowhead Chop became terms Chiefs fans ended up using every time they talked about the team. But decades later, that same Arrowhead name is being dropped by the team. 

As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to move to a new stadium, the team’s president has made it official. 

“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.

Donovan is talking about the team’s move to the new stadium in Kansas City in 2031. The $3 billion domed stadium will be the team’s new home, but it doesn’t have a name yet. Arrowhead is clearly off the table.

While it would be odd to see the Chiefs play at home in a stadium not called Arrowhead, perhaps Hunt is right, especially given the stadium’s history and its impact. 

You see, back in 1968, the team had outgrown the modest capacity and aging facilities of the Municipal Stadium. That became especially evident after they won the Super Bowl IV just two years later. That’s why they asked Charles U. Deaton to design their new stadium, and he did so in a way that defined a new era for the franchise. 

Deaton hadn’t just designed the team’s stadium, but a cornerstone for the NFL. Just a few years later, in 1973, the stadium began using arrows on the yard markers to indicate which end zone was nearest, a practice that became mandatory by 1978.

The name Arrowhead had also stuck, though it was unrelated to the arrows on the field. As Hunt had explained, “We feel that Arrowhead is a most symbolic name for the home of the Chiefs.” 

Since then, it has become a cornerstone of the franchise’s and the NFL’s history. 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. 

And even though 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’, Chiefs fans always knew it as Arrowhead. It would always remain Arrowhead.

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. 

And that’s what Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt believes as well.

“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.”

As we mentioned before, the new stadium doesn’t have a name, and that’s a positive sign for the team, since it leaves a sponsorship opportunity open to the team. 

Donovan mentioned the same when he spoke about outreach from companies interested in the new stadium’s naming-rights deal being “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.”

While the decision to move may sting for some fans,  the Chiefs wanted to build a stadium for the next era of the sport and the team, especially considering their long term ambitions to host a Super Bowl as well as international sporting events. 

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.