No, the Kansas City Chiefs are not changing the name of Arrowhead Stadium

The Kansas City Chiefs are close to a deal to change the name of Arrowhead Stadium.

It’s rare for any pro sports venue to not have a sponsor’s name on it these days. One of the last vestiges of that purity in the NFL was Arrowhead Stadium, home of the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

But according to Sports Business Journal (via Pro Football Talk), the Chiefs are close to finalizing a naming rights deal with Government Employees Health Association (GEHA) Insurance. A deal could be done in time for the 2020 season. The Chiefs are scheduled to kick things off in the Thursday night opener against the Houston Texans on Sept. 10.

GEHA provides insurance to more than two million government employees. The company’s corporate headquarters is in Lee Summit, Missouri, which is the vicinity of Kansas City and Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have existing sponsorship deals with GEHA.

Are Kansas City Chiefs changing the name of Arrowhead Stadium?

Simply put, no they are not.

The team released a statement explaining that naming rights have been discussed but nowhere has changing the name of the stadium been ideated as something that could happen.

The Chiefs have apparently been trying to sell the naming rights to Arrowhead for more than a decade. So the idea that the team would find a partner to move forward with isn’t surprising, neither is the notion that whoever partners with the Chiefs would surely know that altering the stadium name is a non-starter.

For the record: The Chiefs are not changing the name of Arrowhead Stadium in 2020. What happens in the future is yet to be seen, but at least for now there will be no siginifcant changes to the stadium’s name.

At the absolute worst, the new name could be something along the lines of “GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium” once the deal is official. Removing Arrowhead Stadium from the vernacular of Chiefs fans is something no one wants, and is something that will likely never happen.