Since it was dedicated on August 12, 1972, Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium has been one of the jewels in the crown of NFL stadiums. It looks even better today than it did when it opened, and the sleek design means there isn't a bad seat in the house.

Arrowhead Stadium is one of two side-by-side stadiums at the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex. Arrowhead Stadium was dedicated Aug. 12, 1972 at the inaugural pre-season game.

Arrowhead seats 79,101 spectators. The breakdown of seating is 34,927 in the lower level; 10,199 in the club level and 33,975 in the upper level.

Originally the field was artificial turf, but in 1994 a grass playing surface was put in at the stadium.

The cost of Arrowhead Stadium, according to published records in 1970, was $13,847,294. The Chiefs contributed $9,500,000 in improvements that included chair back seats in the end zone, a computerized scoreboard, club facilities and business and administrative suites.

The stadium was part of a $102 million bond issue in Jackson County passed in June of 1967. Judges in the Jackson County court were present at the dedication. Alex Petrovic, the judge presiding over Eastern Jackson County, said at the dedication:

``It was Jackson County's greatest hour in my opinion. As Judges (Charles E.) Curry, (Charles B.) Wheeler and I stood on the field, we looked at each other like we had just received our first Christmas toy. We reached a point that shows the rest of the country that Jackson County can do something collectively.''

It's hard to imagine in this glittering era that the Chiefs once had a down time. In those days, as former All-Pro nose tackle Bill Mass remembers, I went into a gas station and left my car unlocked. I had four tickets on the dash, and I came back out and you'll never believe what happened - there were eight tickets on the dash. Perhaps the lowest day in Chiefs' history came on January 2, 1983, when they drew 11,902 fans to a season ending 37-13 win over the New York Jets. On that same day, the now defunct Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League attracted 15,000 to their game at Kemper Arena.

Times have changed. As a waiting list for season tickets grows, fans pack Arrowhead Stadium to cheer a team that has reached the playoffs every year since 1990. They wear red and gold, wave their banners and pound their tom-toms. While they can be rowdy, it's a good natured rowdiness preserved by Arrowhead's strict policing of drunkenness and obscenity. Arrowhead is one of the league's loudest stadiums and one of the most exciting places to watch a professional football game.

As written by The Sports Staff of USA TODAY in The Complete Four Sport Stadium Guide for Fodor's Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals played the inaugural game at Arrowhead Stadium on August 12, 1972. Today, the facility remains one of the finest sports stadiums in the world. Everything is still in top shape as the Truman Sports Complex celebrated its Silver Anniversary season in 1996. Other venues of a similar vintage have long since been termed obsolete, but thanks to the foresight and vision of the leadership of Jackson County, the Chiefs staff led by Jack Steadman who helped develop the complex, and the taxpayers who made it a reality, Arrowhead has indeed, stood the test of time.

At the time of its dedication in 1972, the legendary founder of the Chicago Bears, George Halas called Arrowhead, the most revolutionary, future, sports complex I have ever seen. Hal Lebovitz, Sports Editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer added, It took courage to sell the citizens of Kansas City on the twin park plan. But they bought it because they want the best.

In the late 1960's, after design and seating capacity concerns caused plans for a single, multi-purpose domed stadium to be scrapped, Kansas City opted to construct two separate stadiums, one for football and one for baseball. Voters approved the Sports Complex bond issue in 1967, which including plans for a revolutionary concept - the world's first rolling stadium roof. Construction cost overruns and project delays caused by a lengthy strike eventually forced the roof concept to be put on hold, but Arrowhead was completed in time for the 1972 season.

In 1984, the Jackson County Sports Authority again investigated the feasibility of a dome - this time made of fabric - but that concept too was shelved as being unnecessary and financially impractical.

A decade later in 1994, under Arrowhead's continued open-air arrangement, a natural playing surface was installed in the facility for the first time, just one of numerous improvements which have been made under the seven-year direction of Chiefs President, General Manager, and CEO, Carl Peterson. In 1991, a state-of-the-art JumboTron screen was installed, and from 1994 96 other multi-million dollar projects have modernized and expanded the Arrowhead Club, the Chiefs team and office facilities, as well as the stadium's concession areas.

Undoubtedly one of the finest facilities in the NFL, Arrowhead and the fans who consistently fill it (43 consecutive sell-outs) have helped produce a distinct home-field advantage for the Chiefs. Since 1992, no NFL team has a better regular season home winning percentage than Kansas City, which has an incredible 27-5 (.844) record. Nearly 30 years after the first plans were being devised for Kansas City's unique two stadium set-up, other metropolitan areas including Cincinnati and Baltimore are, only now, in the process of attempting to construct similar facilities.

On the eve of the 1996 season, Chiefs Founder, Lamar Hunt, expressed the organization's thanks to Colorado-based architect, Charles Deaton, who conceived the two stadium concept. Hunt praised the governmental bodies who took the initiative, and the workers who built Arrowhead, as well as the support of the Jackson County taxpayers who financed this future venture. Hunt pointed out that Kansas City's franchise and its fans have now enjoyed America's top football facility for 25 years and that the Silver Anniversary season is an opportunity for the Chiefs organization to collectively express a hearty salute to all who have unquestionably made Arrowhead Stadium - The Home of the CHIEFS!

Stadium facts
Overall Supervision: Jackson County Sports Authority

Architect: Kivett and Myers with Charles Deaton, design associate

Groundbreaking: July 11, 1968

Dedication: August 12, 1972

Opening game: Chiefs 24, St. Louis Cardinals 14