GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium Tailgating
Kansas City Chiefs · Kansas City, MO
Tailgating is permitted throughout the Arrowhead lots and the stadium writes the footprint down precisely: the width of your own parking space, up to eight feet behind it, and one canopy that has to fit in front of or behind your vehicle within that space. Lots open 4.5 hours before kickoff, one vehicle per space, and a space cannot be used for tailgate equipment alone. Only charcoal or L.P. gas grills are allowed — wood is banned as a fuel and so are wood-burning fire pits — and every lot has a hot coal disposal bin that coals must go into before a grill is left. Glass is prohibited across all the parking lots, and nobody tailgates once the game has started.
Tips & Fan Reports
Bring food and drinks to tailgate at your vehicle and plan to walk around the lots. The tailgate hopping is the best part - offer beers and people will welcome you everywhere.
Bring a Weber and some steaks. The best tailgate experiences at Arrowhead come from just showing up with no plan, firing up the grill, and meeting people.
Bring one canopy, not two, and make sure it fits within your own space in front of or behind the vehicle.
Every lot has a hot coal bin and the rule is that coals go in it before you walk away from the grill — plan for carrying them there.
You cannot buy a second space just for the tailgate: a space may not be used for equipment alone, and it is one vehicle per space.
No glass anywhere in the lots, so decant before you leave home.
Work out your tollgate before you drive in. Interior traffic is one-way counter-clockwise and the gate you enter, together with your pass, decides your lot — there is no fixing it from inside.
Where to Tailgate
The Arrowhead parking lots
The lots ringing the stadium at the Truman Sports Complex, all of which tailgate. Each is equipped with a hot coal disposal bin, and your setup is the width of your space plus up to eight feet behind it, with one canopy.
Known for Open 4.5 hours before kickoff · Hot coal bins in every lot · One canopy per space
The tollgates and the interior loop
Interior traffic flows counter-clockwise, and the stadium is explicit that the tollgate you enter combined with the type of parking pass you hold determines which lot you end up in. Entering at the wrong gate does not get corrected inside.
Known for Counter-clockwise flow · Gate determines your lot · Check before you arrive
The emergency lanes
Marked by two yellow lines down the centre of each parking aisle, and they have to stay clear. This is the constraint that decides how far back a setup can actually spread, whatever the eight-foot allowance says.
Known for Two yellow lines · Must stay clear
Rules to Know
What GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium allows, and what it does not.
- Only charcoal or L.P. gas grills are permitted. Wood may not be used as fuel, and wood-burning fire pits are prohibited.
- All grills must be supervised at all times by a responsible adult (18 years or older) and be fully extinguished before being left unattended.
- Each lot is equipped with a hot coal disposal bin, and all coals must be disposed in the designated containers prior to leaving a grill unattended.
- A tailgate is limited to the width of the entrant's designated parking space and up to eight feet behind it.
- One canopy is permitted, and it must fit in front of or behind the vehicle within the entrant's designated parking space.
- Parking spaces may not be used for tailgate equipment alone, and it is one vehicle per one parking space.
- Glass is prohibited in all premises parking lots.
- Emergency vehicle lanes, denoted by two yellow lines in the centre of the parking aisle, must remain clear.
- Entrants may not tailgate in the premises parking lot during the game, and may not remain in the lots once the game is under way.
- Commercial tailgate set-ups are not permitted, and selling any items — including for donations — is strictly prohibited.
- Offensive signs, banners or other displays, including the Confederate Flag, are prohibited.
- Parking lots open 4.5 hours prior to kickoff unless otherwise communicated.
- All Missouri alcohol consumption and distribution laws are strictly enforced by police and management, and amplified sound should be kept at a level that does not interfere with other guests.
What to Bring
- A bag the gate will accept
Clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bags may be no larger than 12 x 6 x 12 inches; one-gallon clear bags and non-clear bags no larger than 4.5 x 6.5 inches are also permitted.
- Only the outside food and drink the rule allows
Outside food and beverages are prohibited except for one factory-sealed water bottle of 20 ounces or less per guest.
- A card or a phone wallet
Arrowhead Stadium is cashless and accepts Mastercard, American Express, Visa, and Discover.
- Your tickets on a charged phone
All Arrowhead tickets are mobile-only; access them in the Chiefs Mobile App and add them to the phone's wallet before arrival.
- Winter layers, gloves and a hat
January lows average 19°F in the seats at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
- A rain layer
September averages 4.8 inches of rain here.
Tailgate Gear
Lots open 4.5 hours before kickoff, ending when the game starts.
- A charcoal or L.P. gas grill — wood as a fuel and wood-burning fire pits are both banned
- One canopy, sized to fit in front of or behind your vehicle inside your own space
- A metal bucket or scoop for carrying coals to the lot's hot coal disposal bin
- Cans or plastic rather than glass, which is prohibited across every parking lot
- A setup no more than eight feet deep behind your space, leaving the yellow-lined emergency lane clear
Kansas City Chiefs Tailgate Gear
Canopies, grills, coolers, and official Kansas City Chiefs gear for the ultimate tailgate.
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How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Pregame
GEHA Field at Arrowhead official site: Premise Entry & Parking Terms and Conditions (tailgating regulations), Tailgating Information, and the Game Plan page
- Venue policies
Arrowhead Stadium A-Z, accessibility, bag, permitted-items, gameday, and mobile-ticketing guidance reviewed for all structured venue-policy topics.
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals