Chiefs deny they’re close to a deal for field naming rights at Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium it shall remain.
Field and all.
The Chiefs disputed a Sports Business Journal report Thursday that they are nearing a deal with the Government Employees Health Association (GEHA) for the field naming rights at Arrowhead.
“We’ve talked openly about the desire to find the correct field naming rights partner for Arrowhead Stadium for a number of years, and while field naming rights have always been an option to explore with GEHA as part of the strategic growth and expansion of this relationship, there has never been, nor will there be, a field naming rights deal in place for the 2020 season,” the Chiefs’ statement read, in part. “We feel that this message was clearly communicated, but unfortunately a misleading and factually incorrect headline has been written. Amidst all that is currently happening in our communities, neither the Chiefs nor GEHA are focused on a potential field naming rights deal at this time.”
The Chiefs have never sold the naming rights to Arrowhead Stadium. While the Sports Business Journal report indicated the agreement with GEHA would apply to the field only, it said a deal could be worked out in time for the 2020 season. The Chiefs denied that’s the case.
“Field naming rights have always been an option to explore as part of the partnership with GEHA, but not something either of us is focused on right now, especially with everything that’s going on in the world,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan told SBJ, per the publication. “To say that anything has ramped up or even slowed down on that (because of the pandemic) would be wrong.’’
Last summer, GEHA signed a partnership deal with the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. GEHA is a non-profit provider of health, dental and vision plans to federal employees. It is headquartered in Lee’s Summit and employs around 1,400 people in the Kansas City area.
While the Chiefs’ statement denied the report of a near-term deal for naming rights, it left open the possibility of such an agreement with GEHA in the future.
“Our partnership with GEHA remains very strong,” it read. “It exceeded our expectations in the first year, and we look forward to an exciting future together.”
Only four NFL teams play in stadiums without a corporate sponsor: the Chicago Bears (Soldier Field), Green Bay Packers (Lambeau Field), Cleveland Browns (Paul Brown Stadium) and the Chiefs.
The Chiefs announced in January that the orange seats in Arrowhead’s lower bowl were being replaced by red seats like the ones that were installed in the upper deck last year. The scoreboard on the east side of Arrowhead is also scheduled to be upgraded.
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 12:29 PM.
