We just came home from a weekend trip to Kansas City, Missouri, for the Minnesota Vikings vs. Kansas City Chiefs football game. This blog will give you an idea of what to expect if you are planning a trip to the Arrowhead Stadium for a football game.
Directions: Arrowhead Stadium is not very convenient from the airport. If you are flying into Kansas City Airport (MCI but locals call it KCI), you will have a 30 minute drive to the stadium if there’s virtually no traffic. With traffic, it can easily take an hour. So make sure you plan ahead for that.
Parking: If you park far away and take a hike, there are parking spots available for $20. There are 3 hotels within “walking distance” of the stadium, but none of the hotels are very nice, and they do fill up. The best parking spots that a visitor can buy are the Red Lots, which is $40 if you pay in advance and $60 if you pay on site. Considering the location of this stadium, I think this is your best bet. But if you are staying downtown (or the vicinity), you may look into zTrip as an option. It’s like Uber and Lyft, but it’s the only ridesharing company that can get close to the stadium.
Tailgate: The tailgate area is located in Lot M. We purchased tailgate party tickets online from Sam’s Club prior to getting there. But it didn’t come in for some reason, and Sam’s Club customer service tried to be helpful but ultimately no help at all. But the event hosts Tickets For Less let us in with the receipt of purchase without any issues – I thought that was very nice of them and shows a level of trust that most people don’t give these days. The food was typical tailgate food – BBQ pork, brisket, baked beans, etc. but everything was tasty and there was plenty of it! Beer choices were Goose Island (ran out quickly), Bud Light, and Miller Light. The service was top notch. There were several portable potties available and they remained reasonably clean the entire time. I would tailgate this way again in a heartbeat, but probably won’t buy through Sam’s Club next time.
The Stadium: Lines were very long to get in! There was only two types of lanes: regular or express (no bags). We always go to these games with no bags so it wasn’t TOO bad but we still missed the kick-off. This stadium is known for how loud it is, and it really was LOUD. Forget about talking to each other – it was so loud I couldn’t hear myself think! But that just adds it to the experience. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes to this stadium – no one ever sits down. Literally. Everyone stood the entire game. This really is an amazing stadium with lots of great energy. The one negative thing about the stadium is that the scoreboard is VERY hard to see. There are only two TVs at the two opposite ends of the stadium – so depending on where you sit, you may be making a hard left or hard right to see either TV.
The Food: This stadium has great food. The prices are a bit high compare to other stadiums but the service is great and food tastes good. Avoid the nachos though – it’s just a bag of Tostito’s with some liquid cheese for $10. I recommend the $12 cheese steak. Beer is ice cold.
The Fans: Chiefs fans are very friendly and have great energy. Everyone we met was very friendly. No one ever showed any hostility towards us whatsoever.
Hotels: Since the stadium isn’t close to the airport, I recommend to stay in one of the many bustling areas in between. Power & Light, Downtown/Crown Center, or Country Club Plaza are all wonderful areas to look into. We stayed at InterContinental at the Plaza this time. I recommend getting a room facing the Plaza with a balcony. The night views are incredible. The Concierge lounge had the kindest man Craig who always went out of his way to make your stay the best possible. However, our last hotel did feel nicer and more upscale, which was right across the street – The Raphael Hotel. If I go back again, I will try to stay at The Raphael again.
So there you go. Even though our team lost, we did have a wonderful trip and experience at the Arrowhead Stadium. Arrowhead is one of those stadiums that should be on everyone’s bucket list.