New study ranks Arrowhead as one of the hottest World Cup stadiums
It’s rare for Arrowhead Stadium to host a game in the summer. Of course, the FIFA World Cup will buck that trend, but it will also introduce World Cup fans to some real Kansas City heat.
Action Network, a sports betting and analytics website, ranked the 16 World Cup host stadiums based on heat risk. They used a decade’s worth of weather data, urban heat measurements, calculated solar radiation at 3 p.m. on June 21 and the stadium’s roof specifications to show which locations have the highest heat risk for players and fans.
Arrowhead Stadium comes in at No. 2 on the list, with a high heat risk score of 82.8. Action Network said it feels like 92.6 degrees in Arrowhead, with the urban heat island at 7.8 degrees. The latter statistic represents the difference in temperature one might experience within the city.
Arrowhead is just behind Estadio BBVA in the rankings, which is in Monterrey, Mexico. The temperature in that stadium feels like 96.6 degrees, while the UHI is 10.8 degrees, with the highest risk score of 87.8.
Nine of the stadiums in the top 10 are open-roof stadiums, which can play a factor in the stadiums’ temperatures. Monterrey sits in the Cerro de la Silla basin, also known as Saddle Hill, which is a geography that traps warm air.
It’s worth noting that the World Cup games in Kansas City are scheduled for 6 p.m. or later, which means the temperatures could drop slightly when it gets later into the evening. The latest scheduled game is a 9 p.m. matchup June 27 between Algeria and Austria.
According to Sports Illustrated, the highest temperature for a Kansas City Chiefs game at Arrowhead was 89 degrees at kickoff on Sept. 15, 2024.
What are the hottest World Cup stadiums?
These are the 10 hottest World Cup stadiums, including their heat risk score, according to Action Network:
1. Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico: 87.8
2. Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City: 82.8
3. Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia: 79.3
4. Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California: 79.2
5. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey: 78.1
6. Hard Rock Stadium in Miami: 77.9
7. Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico: 77.1
8. Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico: 77.1
9. Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts: 75.0
10. BMO Field in Toronto: 73.2
