STADIUMS IN KANSAS CITY
- Daniel Moreno
- Jul 1
- 9 min read
Kansas City, the City of Champions is not only attractive to all sports leagues and fans from all over the country because of its geographic location but also because our stadiums are beautiful, innovative, historic and well, they offer unmatched game day atmospheres.
Whether you are a #KansasCitian and BIG supporter or an away fan wanting to see what our city and stadiums have to offer, we are going to go down the list and learn about their history, highlights and the teams that call them home.
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
With a capacity of 76,416, Arrowhead opened its doors 52 years ago in 1972 to be the home of our four-time Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL.
Arrowhead is special in many ways, Chiefs Kingdom traditionally shows up when gates open to tailgate, grill, sing, play, drink and prepare for every home game hours before kickoff. However, they all save their voices for the game because we need to maintain our reputation as one of the toughest places to play at and also defend our title as the Loudest Stadium in the World, a Guinness World Record that was set on September 29, 2014 when fans produced a noise level of 142.2 decibels, a measurement that is equivalent to the sound of a jet engine taking off.
Our lovely stadium has hosted the AFC Championship game six times in the last seven years (2018-2024), an NFL record. Sadly, because of our extreme winters, Kansas City has never hosted a Super Bowl but has hosted many other events such as record-breaking concerts, NCAA football games, MLS soccer games and this coming summer, Arrowhead will change is name temporarily to Kansas City Stadium as it was chosen by FIFA to be one of 16 host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the biggest and most important sporting event in the world.
With how much success the Chiefs have had recently and the Truman Sports Complex lease coming to an end in 2031, there have been (so many) talks and news about owner Clark Hunt and the organization seeking alternatives to either extend, renovate and add a roof to the stadium (highly unlikely) or move the team to the Kansas side, near the Legends. Chiefs fans don’t want to lose their home but we will see where all of these rumors take us and what ends up happening. In the meantime, so many exciting things will be happening in and around Arrowhead, so let’s continue to enjoy it!
Top 5 Most Loved Chiefs Players of All Time: Len Dawson, Derrick Thomas, Tony Gonzalez, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Kauffman Stadium
Oh, our beautiful Kauffman Stadium. The K as we all refer to it here in KC, has a listed capacity of 37,903 and opened its doors to the public 52 years ago in 1973 making it the fourth oldest stadium in the MLB.
Something cool to know about this ballpark is that the Crown Vision video board, which was added during renovations in 2007-09, is one of the largest of its kind in the league.
Located right next to Arrowhead, a sea of cars park around the sports complex hours ahead of first pitch for the traditional tailgating, which if you can’t tell already, is a big deal in KC.
The Kansas City Royals are perhaps our most beloved franchise in town. Our boys in blue have won the World Series twice, back in 1985 and a decade ago in 2015. Both teams left a big mark in the history books of the City of Fountains and most of those players have been inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame. Besides hosting two World Series, Kauffman has also hosted the MLB All-Star Game twice in 1973 and 2012, seen three no-hitters and several concerts like Guns N Roses, Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, among others.
Most recently, team owners have expressed their desire to leave the Truman Sports Complex and build a new stadium for the Royals in downtown KC. The K has proudly stood the test of time but nothing is forever and even though voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot initiative to help fund the new stadium, talks are still happening and the future of Kauffman Stadium and the Royals playing there is still up in the air.
Top 5 Most Loved Royals Players of All Time: George Brett, Bret Saberhagen, Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer and Bobby Witt Jr.
Children’s Mercy Park
Originally known as Sporting Park, this is one of the prettiest soccer stradiums in the nation despite is small capacity of only 18,467. CMP opened its doors in 2011 as the Kansas City Wizards rebranded to become Sporting Kansas City, our professional men’s soccer team, which plays in the MLS and has won the MLS Cup twice in 2000 and 2013 as well as the U.S. Open Cup four times: 2004, 2012, 2015 and 2017.
Located at the Legends on the Kansas side, about 18 minutes away from downtown KCMO, Children’s Mercy Park’s game day atmosphere is like no other in the league. Opposing players and coaches often mention how difficult it is to come and get a positive result from our stadium. The team’s supporters group known as The Cauldron set the tone every game with 90 straight minutes of chanting, supporting and intimidating our opponents.
Games at CMP are not only fun to go to but also super family friendly and affordable with a lot of free parking space, restaurants, bars and outlets all around it.
Fun fact, Sporting KC and Children’s Mercy Park hold the record for the longest active sellout streak in Major League Soccer. The streak began on April 7, 2012 and reached 100 consecutive sellouts in 2017, which ultimately ended at 125 games.
Besides hosting the 2013 MLS Cup Championship, where our SKC won its second title in franchise history, and the MLS All-Star Game in 2013, CMP has also hosted multiple countries for international soccer exhibition matches as well as official tournaments such as the CONCACAF Champions League, Leagues Cup, Copa America and Gold Cup.
Earlier this year on February 19, CMP hosted the coldest game in MLS history when Inter Miami and world superstar Lionel Messi visited Sporting KC. Temperature at kickoff was 9 degrees Fahrenheit with a negative wind chill.
Top 5 Most Loved Sporting KC Players of All Time:Â Jimmy Nielsen, Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, Tony Meola and Jimmy Conrad.
CPKC Stadium
The newest stadium in Kansas City is not just any stadium, it is the FIRST stadium built specifically for a professional women’s sports team in the WORLD. CPKC Stadium is home to our KC Current, member of the National Women’s Soccer League.
This lovely venue opened its doors last year in March of 2024 and is located by the Missouri River next to the River Market neighborhood and the Berkeley Riverfront Park, has a capacity of 11,500 and is an architectural beauty. It overlooks the river on one end and the KC skyline on the other.
The Current is one of the most progressive and welcoming organizations not only in the NWSL but in sports altogether. The atmosphere is so fun on home games! It is usually sold out, food/drink options are top notch and there is not a bad seat in the house.
During the inaugural season at CPKC, the Current made it all the way to the semifinals but fell short one game away from the NWSL Championship, which was also played here. The title ended up in the hands of the Orlando Pride led by one of the best players in the world, Brazilian superstar Marta.
Top 5 Most Loved Current Players of All Time: Desiree Scott, Lo’eau Labonta, Temwa Chawinga, Michelle Cooper and Izzy Rodriguez.
Cable Dahmer Arena
Most commonly known as the Independence Events Center, Cable Dahmer Arena is home to two professional teams, our Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL (ice hockey) and our Kansas City Comets of the MASL (indoor soccer).
This multipurpose arena opened its doors on November 7, 2009 and has a capacity of 5,800. Besides hockey and soccer, the arena also hosts all kind of events like concerts, conferences, private events, etc.
Located in Independence, Missouri about 20 minutes away from downtown Kansas City, Cable Dahmer Arena has hosted multiple ECHL playoff series as well as MASL playoff matches and the 2013/14 Championship series where the Comets won their first and only national title in franchise history.
The KC Comets were one of Kansas City’s most beloved teams and franchises in the 80’s, playing their games at the Kemper Arena (now HyVee Arena) and receiving as much attention and following as the Chiefs and Royals. However, the league and team folded but were brought back decades later in 2010 and have an outstanding fan base. Comets games are packed with high-intensity and high-speed action on the field, partylike atmosphere and excitement. Indoor soccer is played in the winter and Hot Winter Nights are a KC classic. Definitely recommend attending a game at least once in your life.
Cable Dahmer Arena also lowers its temp for the rink and all the hockey lovers when the Mavs are in season. Our Mavericks have seen recent success as the team won the Brabham Cup (ECHL regular season title) last season and achieved a franchise record of 54 wins during the 2023-24 season where they made their first trip to the Kelly Cup Finals after winning the Western Conference Championship.
Top 5 Most Loved Comets Players of All Time:Â Gino Schiraldi, Alan Mayer, Leo Gibson, John Sosa and Danny Waltman.
Top 5 Most Loved Mavericks Players of All Time:Â Tyler Fleck, Sebastien Thinel, Kyle Burroughs, Cade Borchardt and David Cotton.
Legends Field
Formerly known as T-Bones Stadium, this minor league baseball park changed its name to Legends Field in 2020 when the KC T-Bones rebranded to the Kansas City Monarchs, honoring our Negro Leagues baseball team from back in the day.
The ballpark is also located at the Legends in Kansas City, KS, 18 minutes from downtown KC and is within walking distance to Children’s Mercy Park. It has a capacity of up to 7,500 and opened its doors in 2003.
Before Sporting KC and the KC Current built their home stadiums, Legends Field served as their home turf for multiple seasons. Today, the ballpark is home only to the Monarchs of the American Association and also gets used as a venue for concerts and festivals.
Monarchs games are extremely fun, cheap and family friendly. Since its founding in 1993, our Monarchs have won FOUR league championships: 2008, 2018, 2021 and 2023.
Top 5 Most Loved Monarchs/T-Bones Players of All Time:Â Chris Herrmann, Gavin Collins, Dylan Rosa, Jake Brentz and Jorge Bonifacio.
Kansas Speedway
For all racing fans, the Kansas Speedway is one of the best tracks in the Midwest. At 24 years old, the Speedway opened its doors in 2001 and has a capacity of 48,000, the second biggest venue in all of KC and the metro area, only behind Arrowhead Stadium.
This loud and thrilling place is adjacent to the Hollywood Casino in the Legends, just like Legends Field and Children’s Mercy Park, only an 18-minute drive from the city.
Since opening, the Kansas Speedway has hosted a variety of racing series including NASCAR, IndyCar and the IMSA Sportscar Championship.
The asphalt track is oval shaped with four turns and has a length of 1.5 miles.
Make sure to check it out at least once even if you are not a big race car fan. It is a thrilling experience! Make sure to bring earplugs and test your photography skills as cars can reach speeds exceeding 200 mph!
T-Mobile Center
I just want to start this one by saying what every #KansasCitian is thinking. This will ALWAYS be the Sprint Center to us. Yes, it was renamed when T-Mobile absorbed Sprint but we don’t care.
That being said, our state-of-the-art downtown arena opened its doors 17 years ago in 2007 and it was built with hopes that Kansas City could secure either an NBA or NHL franchise. However, that still hasn’t happened but hey, we have an amazing multipurpose arena with a capacity of 19,252 in the Power & Light District, KC’s vibrant party area.
Despite not being home to a professional basketball or hockey team, T-Mobile Center hosts the NCAA basketball Big 12 Tournament every March as well as NBA and NHL preseason and exhibition games. Additionally, the arena has hosted KC Comets games, WWE and UFC events, PBR and Monster Truck events, NCAA volleyball and gymnastics tournaments and the BIGGEST names in entertainment like Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Nicki Minaj, Bad Bunny, among others.
Its prime location makes for an absolutely great day in downtown KC. It is surrounded by KC Live! and the P&L clubs, restaurants and bars and it’s very accesible with multiple parking garages and streetcar stations.