KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Arrowhead Stadium will have a naming rights sponsor for the first time beginning in 2021.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ home stadium will be known as GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the team announced Thursday in a release.
“We are extremely proud and excited to announce our naming rights agreement with GEHA,” Chiefs President Mark Donovan said in a statement. “When we set out to find a partner for the field at Arrowhead, it was critical to identify a national leader that shares our core values, as well as a deep connection to the local community and respect for Chiefs Kingdom. Our relationship with GEHA over the last few years has only served to reinforce the alignment between our two organizations and proven their strong, long-standing relationship with the local community. This expanded partnership will continue to build lasting health and wellness programs that support the team, GEHA and our community.”
The Chiefs refuted rumors that a similar naming rights deal was in place for the 2020 season last July. Reports had surfaced at that time the field would be named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
"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 said in a statement last summer.
GEHA, which stands for Government Employees Health Association, has served as the Chiefs' exclusive health, vision and dental partner since July 2019.
According to a release from the team, the shared commitment "of driving and supporting health and wellness" cemented the partnership and the new naming rights deal, which is the first in the stadium's history.
"Expanding our commitment to the team and community with naming rights for GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium is the natural extension of the partnership we first put in place with the Chiefs in 2019," GEHA Chief Growth Officer Shannon Horgan said.
The Chiefs' current lease agreement with the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority runs through Jan. 31, 2031.
Next season will be the 50th the Chiefs have played at Arrowhead Stadium, which is famous for the pregame tailgating in its spacious surrounding parking lots and hosting some of the NFL’s loudest fan.
The facility opened in 1972 and took nearly four years to build.
Fans at Arrowhead set a Guinness World Record for the loudest stadium in October 2013, a record Chiefs fans reclaimed in September 2014 after the original was broken by fans in Seattle.
It has served as the home of the Chiefs since opening.
Jackson County voters passed an $850-million renovation package for the Truman Sports Complex, which includes Kauffman Stadium, in 2006 but rejected plans for a rolling roof that could float between the stadiums.
In exchange, the Chiefs and Royals extended their lease for the stadiums through 2031.
The Arrowhead Stadium renovation started in 2007 and cost $375 million, including a sizable payment from the Hunt family, which owns the team.
According to the company's website, GEHA provides medical and dental benefits to federal employees and retirees, and families through various federal programs.
