The field of dreams – and the story behind it
Lamar Hunt started building Arrowhead Stadium five years after bringing NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs here from Dallas in 1963, to replace the inner-city Municipal Stadium, of limited size and capacity, and dating back 40 years.
With no suitable location found in Kansas City itself, Jackson County suggested a location south-east of town at the junction of Interstate 70 and the 435 encircling Kansas and Missouri. In fact, it was a location for two stadiums, for football and baseball, alongside each other.
The Chiefs opened Arrowhead Stadium – given a name reflecting local Native heritage by a public vote – in 1972. That November, a highest-ever crowd of 82,094 watched the Chiefs’ first home victory in the regular season. In more modern times, the legendarily loud Arrowhead set a world record for stadium noise level in 2013
By then, soccer had long been established here. Intended that Kansas should be in at the start when MLS was launched in 1996, Lamar Hunt arranged for his new franchise to share the home of the Chiefs. A whole end was blocked off for Kansas City Wiz games, average gates hovering below 13,000, before the club moved out to ballpark Legends Field in 2008.
KC returned to play Manchester United at Arrowhead Stadium in 2010 in front of 52,424, a record for a soccer game in the area. Setting up at soccer-specific new-build Sporting Park in 2011, the club rebranded to become Sporting Kansas City. Sporting would return to Arrowhead Stadium after 14 years to take on Messi’s Inter Miami, drawing a crowd of 72,610, the fourth-highest for an MLS game.
Still the same steep-sided, open bowl as when it was created in nearly 60 years ago, Arrowhead Stadium will be demolished after the Chiefs move to Wyandotte County in 2031, having hosted six World Cup games after being overlooked for the 1994 tournament. Capacity for 2026 is set at 73,000, when this will be known as Kansas City Stadium.
getting here
Going to the stadium – tips and timings
ConnectKC is laying on free Airport (free) and Stadium ($15 roundtrip) Direct buses, for which a pass is required – register via kc2026.com/transportation. Kansas City International Airport is 18 miles (29km) northwest of Downtown Kansas City, buses heading to 27th Street & Main near the Fan Festival, setting-off point for Stadium services, as well as from four P&R locations.
A taxi (+1 816-243-2345) from the airport should take 30mins to Downtown Kansas City and cost around $60. Arrowhead Stadium is four miles southeast of Downtown. Expect to pay around $40 with zTrip taxi (+1 855-699-8747), bookable online.
Prices for parking at Arrowhead Stadium (1 Arrowhead Dr, Kansas City, MO 64129) have been set at $125-$150 for group games, $175 and $225 for the knockout matches. Spots can be booked via Just Park. A match ticket is required to complete the purchase.
