The Jackson County sale continues on July 29.  Tickets may be purchased in person between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Arrowhead Stadium ticket office or at select Ticketmaster outlets in the Kansas City area.

The sale to the general public begins at 10 a.m. on Friday.  Tickets may be purchased at the Arrowhead ticket windows, at any Ticketmaster outlet, at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.

How crazy is this?

It seems like yesterday that we were all complaining about the long wait for football to return and now tickets are on sale and training camp opens in St. Joe.

There’s no doubt that both the first game at The New Arrowhead in the preseason and against the Chargers to open the regular season will sell out in a minute, but it will be very interesting to see what sales are like for the rest of the season.

Arrowhead was a shell of itself down the stretch last season, though to be fair it hasn’t had the classic energy since early in the Herm years.   Here’s to some winning football and bringing back the mystique of Arrowhead!

The New Arrowhead officially held it’s first sporting event today.  It was football, but not the football most of us are used to.  The Kansas City Wizards beat Manchester United 2-1 in front of the largest crowed to ever watch a soccer match in Kansas City.

A crowd of 52,342, the biggest for Manchester United on its North American tour so far — eclipsed the 37,319 who witnessed a World Cup qualifier in 2001.

The crowd may have also been drawn partly out of curiosity to see the newly renovated Arrowhead Stadium, which was hosting its first event after a $325 million makeover.

Officials hoped a big, enthusiastic crowd would help the town’s bid to host future World Cup games.

“I’m very optimistic that the United States has a very good shot at landing the 2022 World Cup, and Arrowhead is on the list as one of the 18 stadiums that would be a possible venue for that game.” Hunt lobbied hard to get the Manchester United-Wizards match.

“Events like tonight’s where we’re going to have over 50,000 people in the building for a soccer game I think will be a big selling point for both FIFA and U.S. Soccer when it comes time to make the decision on which stadium to bring the World Cup to,” he said.

What an amazing turnout, even if a good portion of the crowd was there to get the first look at the New Arrowhead.  If the US gets the World Cup, is there any possible way Kansas City isn’t hosting games?

This sort of crowd was also a great test run for the preseason opener for the Chiefs on August 27th against the Eagles.

Official memberships are available for no fee and include a personalized membership card, birthday card, newsletters from KC Wolf and other special offers throughout the year.  MVP Memberships are also available for an annual $20 fee.  The MVP Membership features automatic entry into the Chiefs Kids Club Member of the Week contest with winners receiving two tickets and field passes to a Chiefs home game throughout the season.

In addition, MVP Membership includes a welcome kit with youth hat, backpack and other Chiefs logoed items.  These members will also receive 10 percent off all items in the Chiefs Team Store, free Draft Day Party admission and special MVP exclusive opportunities at the team’s summer training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, including the chance to escort a Chiefs player and carry their helmet from the practice field to the locker room.

Not too shabby.  I would have gone crazy if this were available to me 15 years ago.  Can you imagine being a kid and getting field passes during a game at Arrowhead?

Do you think the team would object to me signing up my dog?  She’s not even 4 yet.

Love the Chiefs?  Want to work at The New Arrowhead?  The team announced yesterday they are looking for new employees this weekend.

NOW HIRING: Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC) is the leader in crowd management, security and guest services for the entertainment and sporting even industries, is now hiring for the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs season.  Positions available are ushers, Fan Assists, and Security.  We will be conducting applications and interviews on Saturday, July 10th from 10:00am – 4:00pm at Gate G on the west side of Arrowhead Stadium.

Can you think of a better way to spend Sundays than getting paid to be at Arrowhead?

Me either.  Good luck!

The Kansas City Chiefs will not get to play in their renovated stadium until August but fans can see it before then when Manchester United takes on the Kansas City Wizards at the New Arrowhead on July 25th.  Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10am.

Tickets range from $30 – $200, and can be purchased via ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at any participating Ticketmaster outlet or through the Chiefs ticket office.  Tickets are already on sale to Chiefs and Wizards season ticket holders.

The July 25th match between Manchester United and the Wizards will serve as a precursor to the inaugural NFL game at the New Arrowhead on August 27th as the Chiefs host the Philadelphia Eagles.  Kansas City also has a home preseason date vs. the Green Bay Packers on September 2nd.  The Chiefs will officially celebrate the grand opening of the New Arrowhead with a national primetime TV audience at 9:15 PM (Central) on September 13th as Kansas City hosts San Diego on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

In order for the New Arrowhead to keep getting these type of big time non-NFL events, the place will need to be packed.  And even if you’re like me and know nothing about soccer, you need to appreciate the money these events will bring to the Kansas City area.

The ticket prices get a little hairy on the high end, but I think $30 bucks is a fair price to pay to get an early look at all the changes to Arrowhead.

Tickets for the first-ever appearance at Arrowhead by Manchester United vs. the Kansas City Wizards go on sale to the general public at 10:00 AM on May 15th. Tickets, which range from $30 – $200, can be purchased via ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at any participating Ticketmaster outlet or through the Chiefs/Wizards box offices.

Chiefs and Wizards season ticket holders will have the first opportunity to purchase seats, as tickets will be made available for purchase to those members immediately.

“We are very excited to welcome Manchester United as the first event in the build up to the grand opening of the New Arrowhead,” Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt said.  “Manchester United is one of the most popular brands in all of sports, and we’re thrilled to have them make their inaugural appearance in Kansas City in the New Arrowhead this July.”

This international match between Manchester United and the Wizards is also expected to enhance Kansas City’s opportunity to host FIFA World Cup™ games.

The New Arrowhead and Kansas City are one of the 18 American venues selected to host FIFA World Cup™ games as part of the USA Bid Committee’s quest to bring the greatest international sporting event in the world to the United States in 2018 or 2022.  An official announcement on the host nation for the FIFA World Cup™ will be made in December of this year.

The July 25th match at the New Arrowhead is part of Manchester United’s first tour of North America since 2004.  Founded in 1878 as the Newton Health L&YR F.C., the club officially changed its name to Manchester United in 1902.

Back when the announcement was made that Kansas City could host World Cup games, I made no secret that I no zero about soccer.  But just as it’s clear that those games would be huge for Kansas City, bringing in Manchester United has no downside (except maybe that $200 price tag for the top ticket!).

There will be people that will be up in arms that the Chiefs aren’t opening The New Arrowhead.  I get that, but Arrowhead was able to get a face lift so that Kansas City will be a destination for these type of events.

First Manchester United, then the World Cup and finally….  the Super Bowl?

As the Chiefs and their fans bask in the news that the New Arrowhead will debut on Monday Night Football, Bob Gretz reminds us what has always given Kansas City a special home field advantage.

Lobbying by the Hunt Family convinced the league powers to give the nation a look at the first regular season game in the revamped Arrowhead Stadium.  On Monday evening, September 14, the San Diego Chargers will be in town for Game No. 1.

That’s all well and good.  Considering the amount of money the Hunts have spent themselves on the renovation of Arrowhead, they have every reason to want to show off the building.  Of course one must also take into consideration that the reason Arrowhead became one of the NFL’s most famous stadiums wasn’t the cement and steel, the concourses and the club level.

Arrowhead became an iconic stadium thanks to the crowds that filled the seats in the 1990s and the enthusiasm they brought to watching Chiefs football.  Of course that bloom is long off the rose as the team has struggled for the last three years to sellout their home games, just as the team struggled on the field to win games.

The visit by the Chargers on that Monday night will certainly give the Chiefs something to sell to potential ticket buyers.  For fans that want to be part of that evening on a single ticket basis, expect to be forced to buy a ticket to the December 19th game against Tennessee as well, or maybe the October 31st Halloween home game against Chan Gailey and his Buffalo Bills.

This is where the business side of the game will eventually tarnish a portion of being awarded one of the first MNF games of the season.  Every fan should be given the opportunity to buy tickets just for that first game to make sure the New Arrowhead is as crazy as we remember it from years ago.

Requiring the purchase of multiple games immediately shuts out a huge portion of the fan base that helped to give Arrowhead it’s reputation.  It will also push the prices of the the tickets on the secondary market through the roof with ticket brokers having the ability to snatch up tickets via the multi-game plans and using their profits on the Monday night game to negate whatever they spent on Buffalo or Tennessee.

Monday Night Football makes its long-awaited return to Kansas City as the Chiefs officially celebrate the grand opening of the New Arrowhead with a national primetime TV audience at 9:15 PM (Central) on September 13th.

The Chiefs contest vs. San Diego will mark the first time that Kansas City has ever opened the regular season on Monday Night Football.  The Chiefs-Chargers game will serve as the second half of ESPN’s Monday Night Football double-header, providing an exciting conclusion to the NFL’s 2010 Kickoff Weekend.

“We are thrilled to bring Monday Night Football back to the ‘Home of the Chiefs,’” Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt said.  “Our fans have made Arrowhead Stadium the scene of some of the most memorable moments in Monday Night Football history, and the game’s return to Kansas City is a fitting tribute to the investment of the people of Jackson County and the State of Missouri.  This fall, we look forward to the grand opening of the New Arrowhead and anxiously await the opportunity to showcase the greatest fans in the National Football League to a primetime, national television audience.”

This year’s contest will mark the 17th time the Chiefs have hosted a Monday Night Football game in the regular season at Arrowhead.  In total, it will be the club’s 36th overall regular season appearance on MNF.  The only other Chiefs-Chargers contest on MNF came at Arrowhead in ’83.

The Chiefs-Chargers came will also be available via free, over-the-air local television for Chiefs fans in the Kansas City area with further details available at a later date.  Kansas City’s most recent Monday Night Football contest at Arrowhead came vs. New England (11/22/04).

The prospect of a two-sport, major-league double-header shapes up as one of the most exciting and historic days in Kansas City sports history.  The Chiefs are particularly grateful for the assistance of the Kansas City Royals, who have been extremely cooperative in the scheduling process.  The Royals have a home game vs. the Oakland A’s on Monday, September 13th, and are working closely with the Chiefs to ensure that date is a great day for all sports fans in Mid-America.

Earlier today I said the best case scenario was an early season Monday night game against the Raiders.  Opening up The New Arrowhead as part of the MNF premiere is better than I could have expected and subbing the Chargers for the Raiders just means we get to see San Diego lose instead of Oakland.  I think I can deal with that.

There will be a lot of talk between the Chiefs, Royals, MLB and NFL about the two games on the same day but it really seems like a quick fix.  Move the Royals to a 1:10 first pitch and considering that — in all likelihood — they will not be in the hunt for a playoff spot, Kauffman Stadium shouldn’t be all that crowded.

If anything, I expect to see more people in the parking lot tailgating for the Chiefs-Chargers than there to see the Royals-A’s.

When looking at teams in similar situations to that of Kansas City, the common set of circumstances to focus on revolves around the debut of either a new or completely renovated home stadium.  In the Chiefs case, this is obviously the grand opening of The New Arrowhead in 2010.

NFL schedulers have historically been generous in sharing the national spotlight with franchise’s unveiling a new or renovated stadium.  Since 2000, 14 teams have opened a new or renovated stadium across the country.  Ten of those 14 teams went on to debut their stadiums in a prime time national television slot during their first or second home contest.

The history of new/renovated stadiums in the NFL has typically translated into a prime time football showcase in year one.  If selected in 2010, we all know that Chiefs fans and The New Arrowhead will make both Kansas City and the National Football League proud.

My wish list would be for an early Monday night game against the Oakland Raiders.  This way the Chiefs could show off their beautiful new stadium while embarrassing the Silver & Black.  Best of both worlds?  Sounds good to me!

That was the good news Monday from Jim Rowland, executive director of the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority.

“We are on target with everything at Arrowhead,” Rowland told members of the Jackson County Legislature.

The first home preseason game is Aug. 27.

Through March 20, Rowland said, nearly $347 million had been spent on Arrowhead improvements.  With $270.4 million spent at Kauffman Stadium, the improvements so far at the Truman Sports Complex total more than $617 million.

Once the regular season schedule is finally released later today, I look forward to picking out when I will get my first look at the brand new Arrowhead.  I never made my way to the “almost-there” version last season, so it will be a completely new stadium to me — or at least it should for the kind of money they’ve been pouring into it!