(By MATT PIKE)
The Kansas City Chiefs announced today that two well known regional architectural design firms have advanced to the final stages of the design process for the new stadium to be built in Wyandotte County.
Following extensive interest in the RFQ and RFP process MANICA and Populous have been named as the final two firms by the Chiefs to design the new state of the art stadium that will be built after the Chiefs agreement to move to the state of Kansas. This is the first significant update in the project as the Chiefs share details throughout the stadium process to fans and other stakeholders.
“We’re thrilled to take this next step in our new stadium journey and announce the two finalists in our search for lead designer,” Chiefs President Mark Donovan said in a news release from the team. “The Kansas City region is the central hub of global sports and entertainment venue architecture and design, so we didn’t need to go far to identify the top options to explore final concepts for the future home of Chiefs Kingdom.”
Notable MANICA projects include New Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee), Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, Nevada), New Milan Stadium at San Siro (Milan, Italy), Oklahoma City’s new arena (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), Chase Center (San Francisco, California), Miami Freedom Park (Miami, Florida), Birmingham City Football Club’s new stadium (Birmingham, United Kingdom), and VTB Arena Park (Moscow, Russia).
“Our entire team would be thrilled to partner with the Kansas City Chiefs to help bring their new home to life,” said David Manica, president and owner, MANICA. “The Chiefs are a storied franchise and we envision a stadium that exemplifies the organization’s championship mentality and the awe-inspiring spirit of our beloved Arrowhead Stadium. Every element will be approached with intention, ensuring a bold and modern design that not only honors the team’s legacy but creates an even better game-day experience for all of Chiefs Kingdom.”
Notable Populous projects include New Highmark Stadium (Buffalo, New York), New AS Roma Stadium (Rome, Italy), New Kai Tak Stadium + Sports Park (Kowloon, Hong Kong), Wrexham AFC New Kop Stand (Wrexham, United Kingdom), Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (London, United Kingdom), Co-op Live (Manchester, United Kingdom), Sphere (Las Vegas, Nevada) and the New Grand Stade Hassan II Stadium for the 2030 World Cup (Casablanca, Morocco).
“For more than 40 years, Populous has proudly called Kansas City home,” Scott Radecic, Co-Founder and Global Director of Populous said. “From here, we have redefined modern sports venue design, creating iconic places that unite communities and transform how fans connect with their teams and each other. We are honored to collaborate with the Kansas City Chiefs on a project that reflects their legacy, the passion of Chiefs Kingdom and the promise of what’s next.”
The $3 billion state-of-the-art stadium and surrounding mixed-use development that could include sports, entertainment, dining, shopping, office, hotel, and residential properties will open at the start of the 2031 NFL season. Based on State of Kansas estimations, the fixed-roof stadium project is slated to deliver more than 20,000 jobs and more than $4.4 billion in economic impact for Kansas during the construction phase alone. The overall project is expected to generate more than 3,500 jobs and more than $1 billion in economic impact annually.
The project will be financed through a public-private partnership, with the public portion funded through Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bonds and the Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund. Both funding mechanisms were established specifically to ensure that there will be no new state taxes and no impact on the state budget. The remaining portion will be privately funded. The Hunt Family is also committing $1 billion in additional development as part of the relocation to Kansas.
(You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.)
