Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt shares his first choice for future stadium home

Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt says the team has not yet completed its study examining the best options for a home base when the Arrowhead Stadium lease expires in January 2031.

But he has a personal preference: to renovate Arrowhead Stadium in its current location.

“That would be our No. 1 priority,” Hunt said Friday. “We’re going evaluate all our options, obviously. We’ve got to figure out what’s best for the franchise, what’s best for the fan base.”

At this year’s NFL owners meetings in Florida in April, Chiefs president Mark Donovan said the team had considered pitches to build a new stadium in Kansas.

Hunt said Friday, though, that would not be the organization’s top choice. The Chiefs are still probably a year or so away from knowing if an Arrowhead renovation would be feasible because the evaluation is ongoing, Hunt said, adding that the deliberate pace is intentional.

“What I’ve learned through the process is it’s not a very simple answer, when you’re trying to make a decision about whether a building can go another 25 or 30 years starting eight years from now,” Hunt said. “So we’re being very methodical about it. We want to get to the right answer, because it’s very important.”

Much could change between now and 2031. For example, the Kansas City Royals are examining a move to downtown KC and out of Truman Sports Complex, where Arrowhead also is located. The state of Kansas also recently legalized sports gambling, with 80% of the revenue funneled into a special fund the state is using to lure major sports teams.

Hunt admits he has an emotional attachment to Arrowhead, talking Friday about how his father and Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt called the stadium his favorite place on earth.

“(The decision process) starts with evaluating Arrowhead,” Clark Hunt said, “and that’s where we are right now.”

Participation report

Cornerback Rashad Fenton (shoulder), tackle Lucas Niang (knee) and offensive lineman Prince Tega Wanogho (leg) remained on the physically unable to perform list.

Recent signing defensive end Carlos Dunlap was not with the team, as coach Andy Reid said he’d be joining the Chiefs on Wednesday.

“He’s got some things that he’s got to take care of before he gets up here,” Reid said. “But his role will be, he’ll work into the mix at the defensive end position. And it’s a nice addition. Obviously, he’s been doing this a while, and he can still roll. So we look forward to bringing him in and into the mix there and get him going.”

Observations

• Rookie receiver Skyy Moore had the day’s top highlight, laying out on the sideline for a diving catch while going against fellow rookie Nazeeh Johnson.

Both Reid and Mahomes spoke afterward about Moore’s development.

“He made a couple of nice plays,” Reid said. “Again, it’s him learning the game. He’s very strong. You can see he’s got great feet and (is) very strong in the core area. And so that’s gonna come in handy for him as he moves through this.”

Added Mahomes: “I think you see that he’s made a lot of tough, contested catches over the middle. He’s thinking a lot, because he’s a rookie getting thrown into the offense, and we’re not holding back at all. But you can tell when he knows what he’s doing, he runs some great routes, has great releases, and I think he can be a big part of our offense moving forward.”

• It was a big day for tight end Jody Fortson, who frequently came down with catches and also juked linebacker Elijah Lee in the open field on one of his receptions.

• During 7-on-7 red-zone drills, Marquez Valdes-Scantling pulled in a pair of touchdowns from Mahomes, while JuJu Smith-Schuster hauled in another over the middle.

• Linebacker Willie Gay had the defense’s top play, stepping in front of a Mahomes pass over the middle for an interception that he returned for a long touchdown. After he finished his run, he also celebrated by raising his arms to get the fans going on the far side of the Chiefs’ practice field.

• In 11-on-11, rookie defensive end George Karlaftis batted down a Chad Henne pass.

• The biggest drop of the day was by Josh Gordon, who had separated from the defense and was in position to catch a deep ball from Henne.

• Harrison Butker made all of his field-goal attempts until his last one, which he pulled from 62 yards. His longest make was from 57 yards.

• During kickoff return drills, Isiah Pacheco was the first player who dropped deep.

The Star’s Blair Kerkhoff contributed to this report.