It costs a fortune to go to Chiefs games. Team should reward KC with cheaper options
The excitement for Thursday’s home opener for the Kansas City Chiefs is likely matched only by the high expectations for a team that’s been among the NFL elites for nearly a decade.
But if you’re thinking of attending this week’s game or one of the other seven regular season games at Arrowhead Stadium, you might need to take out a loan.
The hometown Chiefs have among the highest cost of attendance of any team in the league. According to a survey from sports betting website bookies.com, which looked for cheapest available tickets throughout the season as of September, the cost of going to a Chiefs game this year is third highest.
We get it. The team’s popular. But going forward, it should consider less pricey options to allow more families with limited disposable income to attend games at the taxpayer-supported stadium.
A family of four will spend roughly $537 to attend a NFL game this year, according to bookies.com. In Kansas City, the average price for parents and two children to attend Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers is borderline absurd. To park, purchase four of the cheapest tickets, enjoy four hot dogs, two soft drinks and two beers, a family would be set back almost $820, according to the website, and that includes $725 for the tickets.
So where does that leave hardworking Chiefs fans who want to see their favorite team in action? On the outside looking in.
Especially if you live in Jackson County.
Since 2006, Jackson County taxpayers have paid millions of dollars to help renovate the Truman Sports Complex, which is subsidized by multiple taxing jurisdictions.
Jackson County pays $3.5 million per year for stadium maintenance fees, funded through sales tax revenues and administered by the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority, which also oversees the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium nearby. Is it right for the Chiefs to ask Jackson County residents to help pay its stadium costs and then set prices too high for the average fan? We don’t think so.
By Wednesday, the cheapest single ticket left available on the Chiefs’ website was $130. Parking for the Chargers game was listed at $47 for a passenger vehicle, a $7 increase from the price cited in the cost survey. That’s nearly $200 for one person just to get in the gate. Discounted tickets were nowhere to be found on the site. The price of a single seat on some secondary markets this week was about $135.
There are ways to make tickets more affordable to average fans. In Nashville, the Tennessee Titans offer two-, three- and four-game flex plans that run between $152 and $260. On Dec. 29, Tampa will offer a family four-pack for $100 to watch as Tom Brady winds down his storied career. Similar bargains don’t exist here. The Chiefs haven’t given a good reason why not.
Valued at $3.7 billion, the Chiefs organization is one of the NFL’s most valuable and profitable. The team is flush with cash. A naming rights deal with Lee’s Summit-based Government Employees Health Association will net the Chiefs between $10 million and $11 million a year until Jan. 31, 2031, Forbes magazine has reported.
And the team, per its lease agreement with landlord Jackson County Sports Complex Authority, will keep every single dime of the naming rights sponsorship, according to Forbes.
Yes, star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a huge box office draw. We get the demand for tickets to Chiefs games. But even the most devoted fans with sparse funds simply can’t afford to root for their favorite team in person.
We all deserve an opportunity to watch a generational talent like Mahomes, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, compete live. We shouldn’t have to go broke in doing so.
Update: This editorial has been updated to explain bookies.com’s methodology for ranking cost of attendance at NFL stadiums in 2022.
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 12:00 PM.