KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No pun intended, but Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said Friday that he hopes to have “something concrete in the near future” about the team’s future home.
During an appearance on the TV broadcast for the Chiefs’ second preseason game in Seattle, Hunt reiterated that conversations with Missouri, where the team would renovate GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, and Kansas, where the team is considering building a new domed stadium, remain ongoing.
“We continue to work on our long-term stadium solution,” Hunt said. “We’re continuing to have great conversations with both the state of Kansas and the state of Missouri.”
There has already been plenty of construction at Arrowhead this summer, with six FIFA World Cup 26 games slated for next summer in Kansas City.
“We had to do a lot of surgery to the seating bowl to make sure we can have a wide enough field,” Hunt said. “That work is complete and the great news is that Chiefs fans won’t even notice that it happened.”
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Hunt also revealed that the Chiefs also made some “major upgrades” to the training facility.
He said after making upgrades to the indoor practice facility and cafeteria last season, Kansas City renovated the practice facility’s training and weight rooms and built a new players’ lounge.
Asked about the new docuseries chronicling last season’s Super Bowl three-peat quest, “The Kingdom,” Hunt said the Chiefs view it — at least in part — as a savvy marketing opportunity to grow the team’s global brand.
“I think it really goes back to my dad,” Hunt said. “He long believed that the NFL was going to grow internationally. He was a big advocate for it, and we’ve embraced every opportunity that we’ve had to play games overseas.”
That includes the Sept. 5 season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“We’re excited about the challenge of getting back to the Super Bowl,” Hunt said. “It’s really hard to do. If you look at the history of the NFL, teams that have lost Super Bowls have a hard time getting back. I think our guys have a chip on their shoulder. Just watching them at training camp this year, our leaders — Patrick (Mahomes), Travis (Kelce), Chris (Jones) — they’re very eager for the regular season to get here and get the campaign underway, because they left last year with a bad taste in their mouth.”
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