Sporting Kansas City - Inter Miami: What is the history of Arrowhead Stadium soccer matches?

This weekend’s MLS fixtures bring about a rare meeting of world champions, as World Cup winner Lionel Messi travels to the home of Super Bowl holders Kansas City Chiefs.

Inter Miami’s visit to Sporting Kansas City on Saturday has drawn huge demand for tickets, to such an extent that the hosts have opted to de-camp, for one night only, to the vast Arrowhead Stadium. The huge 76,416-capacity venue has been home to the Chiefs since it’s creation in 1972 and holds the world record for the loudest Sports stadium.

It’s set to host Games at the 2026 World Cup and has a long History as a soccer venue, dating back to the early days of MLS.

When was the first MLS game at Arrowhead Stadium?

After more than two decades as an American football venue, Arrowhead Stadium became the new home of one of MLS’ founding clubs in 1996. The Kansas City Wiz were one of ten teams in the inaugural season of Major League Soccer and the Arrowhead played host to their first fixture in the league, a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. But despite that positive start their time at the vast NFL stadium was not a happy one.

The Wiz, later renamed Sporting Kansas City, were unable to attract the size of crowd that was needed to fill the huge venue and the on-stadium atmosphere suffered as a result.

After struggling on for a decade Kansas City put plans in place for their own soccer-specific stadium. They left the Arrowhead in 2007 and, after spending a few years at the Kansas City T-Bones CommunityAmerica Ballpark, moved to their own stadium in 2011. The 18,000-seater stadium was named Children’s Mercy Park in 2015 and remains the regular home of Sporting KC.

Why are Inter Miami playing at Arrowhead Stadium?

Arrowhead Stadium was not the right venue for MLS as the league sought to grow in the United States. The stadium is too big for most regular season matches but it has been used, on occasion, as a soccer venue for Games with major interest.

The Arrowhead has played host to three USWNT fixtures and two USMNT matches, most notably a crucial qualifying victory against Costa Rica that helped the US secure a place at the 2002 World Cup. Mexico played a friendly game against Paraguay in Kansas City in 2015, the most recent soccer match hosted at the Arrowhead.

The last time Sporting KC played at Arrowhead Stadium was in 2010, when the team was known as the Wizards. A mid-season friendly against Manchester United drew a crowd of 52,424, the largest attendance for a soccer game at the venue. Those in attendance saw the Wizards secure an impressive 2-1 victory over the Premier League giants.

On Saturday, 12 April Arrowhead Stadium will host an MLS fixture for the first time since 2007 as Sporting Kansas City take on Inter Miami. And there’s more to come; the Arrowhead has games at this summer’s Copa América and was chosen as one of 16 venues for the 2026 World Cup. After a nine-year absence soccer has finally returned to Arrowhead Stadium, and it’s here to stay.