Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt
July 30, 2026
HUNT: “Good morning. It's great to see everyone. We're excited to be back at Missouri Western. This is our 16th time out of the last 17 years. I appreciate the fans who came out today and weathered the storm to watch practice. Before I say any more, I want to say a few words about Coach (Eric) Bieniemy and just how much we're thinking about him and his family, wishing his wife a very speedy recovery, and when he's back, we'll be delighted to have him back. But we're glad that he's taking the time that he needs with his family right now. We've had a very busy offseason. The World Cup was at the top of that list and just couldn't be prouder of the job that Kansas City did in hosting the World Cup. I thought it was outstanding on every level. We've also announced the architects for our new stadium, MANICA, as well as the training facility, Populous. We're delighted to be working with such outstanding firms, two Kansas City-based firms on those projects. Having said that, it's great to be back here at training camp and thinking about the football season, which is just around the corner. It was fun to see practice this morning and Patrick (Mahomes) moving around and throwing the ball as well as he did. With that, I'll open it up.”
Q: What was your favorite part about the World Cup and when you see Kansas City sitting on the biggest stage, what was the best part that you saw and experienced yourself?
HUNT: “Yeah, I think the best part about World Cups are the fans, both the international fans who come into the cities and spend days celebrating and cheering on their teams and then watching how they interacted with the fans from Kansas City. As I mentioned, I think Kansas City did an outstanding job on every level. It was a community-wide effort, the entire community really came together to do a great job. And as I traveled around the country during the World Cup, I frequently heard how great a job Kansas City was doing, which obviously should make us all feel very proud.”
Q: How many cities did you go to?
HUNT: “I think four.”
Q: Including the final?
HUNT: “Sorry, five. I went to five and I did go to the final.”
Q: On the World Cup Final
HUNT: “Well, World Cup finals are special. I've attended 13 of the last 14 World Cups and I haven't been to all those finals. So, when you get a chance to go to the final it's special. You know, tremendous matchup between Spain, which was obviously an outstanding team, and Argentina led by Messi. Spain obviously prevailed. They were an amazing team throughout the tournament. My family and I were sitting in a section with a bunch of Argentinian fans, so we learned some new chants.”
Q: In regard to the new stadium rendering, when you took a look at those, how close is that to what you envisioned when you began this process and as it goes through the process?
HUNT: “Yeah, so the conceptual design phase is always fascinating, and we looked at lots of different design concepts from both design firms throughout that process, and I can't really say that I had something in the back of my mind going into it. But we're delighted with where we've ended up. We think it does a great job of recognizing the franchise's past and Arrowhead while combining it with a stadium that's modern, innovative, bold, and something that will last for decades.”
Q: You and your family have always been vocal about how much you loved Arrowhead. How do you feel like you and your family are going to reconcile for the next few years as you're really saying goodbye to one but excited for the next one?
HUNT: “Yeah, well, I mentioned this back in December. You know, leaving Arrowhead is not a small decision. And we're going to really cherish these five years. And, you know, it's a special place and always will have a special place in our heart and we're going to appreciate every moment in the building. But at the same time, we're equally excited about the new building because we think it's going to be special, and it'll be a place that our fans over time will really come to love.”
Q: A lot of the new stadiums are smaller, you announced 70,000 plus. Why was that important?
HUNT: “Yeah, and you know, that's a debate we've had internally. Definitely the trend with new stadiums is to go much smaller. I've always been proud of the capacity of Arrowhead. I think it's one of the things that sets it apart. It's an asset when you get to host AFC Championship games or you get to host World Cup games. So, keeping that capacity at the 70,000 level was important to me. We wanted to make sure that we could do that.”
Q: (Chiefs President) Mark (Donovan) mentioned yesterday about how you guys wanted to host a Super Bowl. Just how much of the design of the renderings that we've seen has had that in mind with getting that Super Bowl and having that be a part of it in the next phase of the project?
HUNT: “Yeah, as we've gone through the design process obviously most importantly, we want to design something that's great for Chiefs football and the Chiefs Kingdom. But in the back of our mind on every decision is okay how would this facility work for a Super Bowl? How would this facility work for a Final Four? How would this facility work for a future World Cup? We're thinking about all that and trying to incorporate as many features and as much space as you would need to have for those type of events.”
Q: Can you give your initial reaction to the idea of translucent roof, and what was it like when you actually saw it?
HUNT: “Yeah, so pretty early in the decision process, we decided to go with a fixed roof, and that was for several reasons. First of all, I've been in many retractable roof stadiums, and the roof has never retracted. And if you ask the operators, they'll tell you that they may be retracting the roof for one or two games during the season. And what I've noticed about those facilities is when they have the roof open, you're seeing not much sky, right? The open part of the roofs ends up being very small. Part of the experience of coming to a Chiefs game is enjoying the flyovers that we're so blessed to have with Whiteman Air Force Base so close. And so, we wanted to design something that would give our fans the best opportunity to see those flyovers. It's part of the reason why we have glass in both end zones, so our fans can see the planes approach and after they've flown over. And then we wanted the translucent roof where they would be able to see the flyover as it goes past. So that's how we ended up with that design.”
Q: Have you guys made a decision on PSLs (Personal Seat Licenses)?
HUNT: “Yeah, we've not made a decision on that. We're still in the study phase on that, that'll be something that we'll get to next year.”
Q: Mark also talked about the importance of seeing the design for the parking lot. How important is that to you as well?
HUNT: “Yeah, so there were two things that we knew had to be part of the new facility. One was we had to have a stadium that was as loud or louder than Arrowhead and we believe that we've achieved that with this design. I think you maybe heard (MANICA Founder) David Manica talk about hiring acoustical engineers to make sure that the stadium is really, really loud on gameday. And then the second thing is we want to make the tailgating experience is as good or better than we have right now. And we think we're going to be able to achieve that. We have a very large piece of real estate that we're working with, and we think our fans are going to be really excited about the tailgate experience. It's going to be special.”
Q: On the outlook for this season compared to last season.
HUNT: “Yeah, well, obviously last year was disappointing for all of us. But sometimes that happens, sometimes injuries happen. And you've got to be able to bounce back. We had a year early in (Head Coach) Andy's (Reid) tenure where we didn't make the playoffs and it was disappointing. And there was a lot of concern at the end of that season and some questions about whether Andy should continue to be the coach of the Chiefs. And fortunately, we made that decision that we thought he had a bright future, and he certainly lived up to that. I just think Andy's a special coach; he's a Hall of Fame coach. He has an incredible staff, got to hear from Spags (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) today who's one of the best in the business. And I'm very optimistic that the team's going to bounce back. But there's a lot that goes into it. It starts here at training camp; it's about getting better every day. You can't think about what happened last year, and you can't look ahead. You've got to be focused on winning the day. That was part of my message to the team last night is we've got to focus on the present.”
Q: How close does the vision for the new practice facility mirror what they have in Frisco, in The Star, down in Texas? And also, how important is it to be able to deliver a fan experience for that practice facility for training camp to be similar to what you guys were able to offer up here?
HUNT: “Yeah, so we've looked at a lot of team’s practice facilities as we've thought about the future design of our new practice facility. And there certainly will be some similarities to what the (Dallas) Cowboys have at the Star or what the (Minnesota) Vikings have. Those are two that we've looked at closely. Obviously, every situation is a little bit different based on geography and location of the facility. We think we do have an opportunity to have a mixed-use development around the new practice facility which would be similar to both the Vikings and the Cowboys. We will design the practice facility so that we're able to host training camp. Having the right amount of space, having parking lots, those are the kind of things you have to think about. Ultimately, the decision on where we have training camp is going to be up to the head coach of the team. I certainly hope it's still Andy at that point. But if it's a new coach, the new coach will have a big say in that as well.”
Q: You’ve done this before in the past, and I know (General Manager) Brett (Veach) has always looked to add competition, bring in guys throughout the course of the season. I think you guys have about four million dollars left in cap space. Just what were the conversations in the past about maybe creating more cap space to add players in training camp right before the season and have those discussions sort of already begun?
HUNT: “Well, during this offseason we did a number of things to create cap space so that we could add the players that we've added to the roster. But invariably as you get close to the season there are always injuries or perhaps places that you want to get better. And certainly, if we feel like we need to do that, if we need to create some cap space, we'll do that to make sure that we go into the season as strong as we can.”
Q: Can you elaborate a bit on what you did say to the team? Mark made a point in saying you guys’ sort of started talking about this season on the plane ride home at the end of last season. How have you been handling this and the ability to look forward?
HUNT: “Yeah, well, again, I mentioned how disappointing last year was, and it's not something that we've really talked about since. It's in the past, and it's time to move forward. That's certainly Andy's mentality, the entire coaches' mentality, something that has been stressed to the team that we're not going to think about last year because it doesn't do us any good. They've studied the film already; they know what didn't go right. Andy’s made the adjustments that he feels like he needs to from a scheme standpoint, but also from a personnel standpoint, and we're excited about moving into '26. Can't wait for September 14th to get here.”
Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
July 30, 2026
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
Q: What has the progression been like with rookie CB Mansoor Delane?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, you probably took the words right out of my mouth. Listen, with all these rookies, it's a process, right? (CB Mansoor Delane) He's going through, let's call it, stage three. First, he did rookie minicamp where he was just around rookies and the vets came in for some OTAs, but it's pajama football. And now we're about to get in the training camp where it gets real. I've seen him kind of progress. I mean, early on in the rookie training camp here, he needed a little bit of time to get his legs underneath him. I mean, he had the shoulder deal, so I'm sure he wasn't able to do as much as he would normally do in the offseason, so, but I like the way he's interacting with the guys.”
Q: On the role of CB L’Jarius Sneed.
SPAGNUOLO: “You know how I feel about (CB L’Jarius Sneed) him. It’s like having the son come back, right? You guys know he's in the ramp up, he hasn't really been out there, but when you see him just in the jog throughs that we do against ourselves, I mean, you can see it's coming back, he's excited. I love the way LJ, (LB) Nick (Bolton), (LB) Drue (Tranquill), (DB) Chamarri (Conner)—I love the way they interact. They were together for those number of years when we were playing really well, so hopefully we can find that same ingredient.”
Q: Can you talk about the competition to start opposite DE George Karlaftis on the defensive line?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, I think they're all going to compete in there. Listen, (DE) R Mason (Thomas) has done some really good things, but he's in the rookie process. (DE) Ashton's (Gillotte) in the second year, and he looks like a guy that's made some steps in the second year. It's not all new to him like it was a year ago, and then (DE) Felix (Anudike-Uzomah), getting Felix back has been pretty important, especially with the fact that (LB) Ethan (Downs) got dinged. In my mind, Felix made one really good play today in the run game, and let's hope he can do that, get over the injury issues and be a factor for us.”
Q: What progression have you seen from CB Chris Roland-Wallace?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, it's funny, so last night when I had the unit, we’ve got a lot of bodies out there, and there's some guys that are like third and fourth on the depth chart when you put it up, and I said, don't ever worry about that. And I used (CB) Chris Roland-Wallace as an example. When he came here three years ago, whatever it was, he was buried in the depth chart, and we didn't really know where to fit him, and then he just chipped away, and now he's out there playing with the first group, so real happy with what he's doing. He's a smart football player. It's really important to him.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
July 30, 2026
C CREED HUMPHREY
Q: On the addition of RB Kenneth Walker.
HUMPHREY: “Yeah, really excited. Really excited about (RB Kenneth Walker) K9. He’s a dynamic player, freak athlete. Great with his reads and everything with that. So, we’re really excited to get him in there and start working with him.”
Q: On getting back into the rhythm of training camp.
HUMPHREY: “Yeah, I think it’s just focusing on the details in practice. Locking down exactly what we need to do, what we need to accomplish with each screen. Really just getting the reps with the (QB Garrett Nussmeier and QB Justin Fields) new backs and everybody just to get that cohesion.”
Q: What do you learn about the offensive line without the pads on right now?
HUMPHREY: “Yeah, I think communication is a big thing right now. Being able to communicate with each other pre-snap, post-snap, all those things. So far the guys have been doing a great job with it, and I feel like it’s gotten better each day so far. The work ethic in individual drills, all those things, it’s (headed) in the right direction.”
DB JADEN HICKS
Q: What’s your mindset heading into your third season?
HICKS: “Definitely improving every day, each and every day. Getting the guys on the same page and just building that bond where no matter what goes (on) throughout the season that we’re together and we’re in it for one goal.”
Q: What evaluation do you have on your induvial season last year?
HICKS: “There were definitely things to improve on, but I feel like it was a steppingstone, a learning stone for me. Definitely in a new role, but definitely things to build on.”
Q: How much more comfortable do you feel as this is your third year in Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo system and retaining all the information?
HICKS: “Yeah, it’s definitely more laid back now. I got the swing of things, and it’s a great feeling. We got a bunch of new guys in the room, so it’s fun helping everybody around.”
WR TYQUAN THORTON
Q: You had the opportunity to go anywhere. What made Kansas City attractive and coming back again?
THORTON: “I would say the history of the organization. They play a lot of clean football here. They play at the highest level. Obviously (Quarterback) Patrick Mahomes, and working with (Head Coach) Andy Reid, the coaching staff — one of the best coaching staffs in the league, so why not Kansas City?”
Q: You were really productive the first month of the season last year. How confident are you with these reps and opportunity that you could do that for the whole season?
THORTON: “I am very confident, but it’s also a process. It’s day two, so coming out here and working with the rest of the offense and putting our feet together and just working.”
Q: What are your impressions on WR Cyrus Allen and what he’s able to do in these few days?