Chiefs’ new Locker Room Club at Arrowhead gives fans a close-up view

The newest viewing area at Arrowhead Stadium has no sightline to the playing field. But fans in the stands won’t get to see players entering the locker room or coach Andy Reid conducting his postgame news conference.

Some 100 fans will. They’ll gather in the Locker Room Club, not far from where the players exit the field at the 50-yard line behind the Chiefs’ bench.

The Chiefs gutted what used to be the photographer’s work room and turned it into a gathering spot that is steps away from the locker room entrance and interview room.

“We went to the bowels of the stadium and found space that was being used for different things,” said Tyler Epp, the Chiefs’ vice president for business development. “We see it as beachfront property for our fans.”

Games will be playing on the screens surrounding the room, with a bar and food options. Original AFL helmets hang behind the bar. Fans can drop in during the game or spend the entire game here.

Who has access?

Two groups: Field box owners who have open-air suites — a plan below the club suites — and fans who are members of the Chiefs Kingdom Rewards. The latter can accumulate points to get a transferable pass to the club on a game-by-game basis.

“We targeted this around the average fans to come down,” Epp said.

The Chiefs scouted other NFL stadiums with a similar feature, including AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Those stadiums had the advantage of making their clubs part of the original construction.

Children’s Mercy Park, home of Sporting KC, has a similar feature as well.

This story was originally published August 11, 2017 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ new Locker Room Club at Arrowhead gives fans a close-up view."