Arrowhead Stadium & the Chiefs Practice Facility

Today I had the chance to walk around Arrowhead Stadium, which is the home of the NFL franchise Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs played its first game here in 1972 against the then-nearby St. Louis Cardinals. The stadium seems to have a special power:

Undoubtedly one of the finest facilities in the NFL, Arrowhead and the fans who consistently fill it (43 consecutive sell-outs) have helped produce a distinct home-field advantage for the Chiefs. Since 1992, no NFL team has a better regular season home winning percentage than Kansas City, which has an incredible 27-5 (.844) record. Nearly 30 years after the first plans were being devised for Kansas City’s unique two stadium set-up, other metropolitan areas including Cincinnati and Baltimore are, only now, in the process of attempting to construct similar facilities.

The stadium is also home to the Major League Soccer franchise Kansas City Wizards.

The stadium has an old-school feel to it, with huge stone hallways and older style seats.

There is no doubt which team this stadium is for as a Kansas City Chiefs logo is on every row in the stadium.

Former Chiefs greats like the "Nigerian Nightmare" Christian Okoye fill the walls of their hall of fame. Man, I used to hate that guy. One Monday Night Football game in 1990 had his Chiefs beating the Buffalo Bills 33-6. Jerk.

Right next to Arrowhead is Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals:

Opened as Royals Stadium on April 10, 1973, it is recognized throughout baseball as one of the game's most beautiful ballparks. Since then, many exciting games have been contested, including the 1973 All-Star Game, three no-hitters, playoff games in 1976, '77, '78, '80, '81, '84 and '85 and seven World Series tilts in 1980 and 1985. The facility was officially re-named in honor of Ewing M. Kauffman in a ceremony at the stadium on July 2, 1993. Since its opening, a total of 53,062,406 people have visited the stadium, including a record 2,477,700 in 1989.

The sprawling complex also features a practice facility used by the Chiefs. The building is also used for special events. Prior to the Kansas City Wizards - Chicago Fire match, they hosted fans watching the United States-Italy World Cup match.

Surrounding the building are the bits and pieces of a football field, like the goalposts.

Here's me trying my worth as an offensive lineman.

I think I'd be better off as a coach. There's less stress on the shoulders.

Inside there is a mini-football field with a regulation goalpost.

Outside there is a full-sized field, separate from Arrowhead.

The indoor area appears to use natural grass, it appears, just as the stadium does. Arrowhead replaced Astroturf with grass in 1994.

Unfortunately, there are no public tours of Arrowhead anymore (thanks a lot Jihad), but it's well worth seeing a game there if you can.