Mellinger: Retooled stadium needs a team to match

[Tribal Warfare]

Retooled stadium needs a team to match
SAM MELLINGER COMMENTARY
The Kansas City Star

The new Arrowhead Stadium looks nice enough. The Chiefs played their first game here on Friday night — a young team in a new stadium, so everyone is finding their way. Fans, too. Other than a soccer game and a few trial runs, this was the first look at $375 million of renovations.

You’ll dig it. The Hall of Honor is a must; lots of cool stuff in there. If you’re in a suite, you’ll love the new place. If you’re a commoner, you’ll still like it.

And the new Arrowhead tastes good enough. The food is pretty good, much better than before, and in the name of research and public service we’ll tell you about it in a minute.

But you know what?

The new Arrowhead doesn’t feel nearly enough. It doesn’t sound nearly enough.

That’s the big thing missing here. And that’s a problem that bricks and mortar can’t fix.

•••

This third preseason game was the team’s biggest step forward yet. It started terribly, with two fumbles on the first three plays, and two turnovers and a punt on the first three possessions.

Quarterback Matt Cassel is supposed to be a facilitator — nobody’s asking him to win a game by himself — but he made a terrible decision that led to an interception.

The lasting image from the first half came when Tamba Hali had Kevin Kolb like a tackling dummy — heck, Eric Berry already had begun celebrating the sack — except Kolb escaped and ran for 10 yards.

Soon after that, the Chiefs showed their first real signs of progress in what had been a stinking pile of disappointment this preseason.

Andy Studebaker got the team’s first of five sacks. The entire front seven, in particular, showed life against what’s been a perennial playoff team. Philadelphia quarterback Kevin Kolb completed just 11 of 25 passes. Kendrick Lewis made an interception that set up a third-quarter touchdown run by Thomas Jones.

This is still very much a work in progress. Branden Albert took two holding penalties. Cassel still hasn’t been effective throwing downfield. Jamaal Charles fumbled and didn’t play after hurting his elbow late in the first half. The Chiefs gave up a late touchdown and lost 20-17, so they’re still winless, for whatever that’s worth.

But nobody is expecting a playoff team here. Or, at least, no rational person is expecting a playoff team.

The takeaway so far is that the Chiefs have improved in each of their first three preseason games, and that’s the important thing for a young team that’s bottomed out — please let the worst be behind us — taking steps to become competitive again.

A 6-10 season feels reasonable, and if that sounds like a downer, remember that it would match the team’s win total from the last two seasons combined.

It’s just that new Arrowhead won’t feel like old Arrowhead until the new Chiefs win like the old Chiefs.

No matter how good the food.

•••

We’ll get through this section quickly.

The Hall of Honor is the best part of the renovations accessible to the average fan. You can see the front page of The Star’s sports section for every game in Chiefs history, a summary of every player in team history, a looping video on the club’s past narrated by Mitch Holthus, and enough old pictures and exhibits to keep you busy for the better part of an hour.

The so-called Horizon level offers a nice view of the city, but it’s hard to imagine hard-core fans — the kind who dedicate their Sundays to Chiefs games — spending much time there.

The Chiefs are holding an online vote on what will be Arrowhead’s “signature” sandwich, and in the name of research, beat writer Kent Babb and I can tell you that the short rib melt is the correct answer.

Garozzo’s has a few stands here, too, but you might want to avoid the “Bootleg Barbecue” option.

It needs to get much better.

Sort of like the team.

•••

Every now and then, the ribbon board around the interior of Arrowhead declared this “the loudest stadium in the NFL,” and as long as they’re pushing outdated information, how about a shout-out to a hot new solo artist like Rihanna.

The truth is Arrowhead hasn’t been a real tough place for opponents in four or five years, and wider concourses and chicken spiedini won’t change that.

This isn’t baseball, where a new stadium is a destination and heavy renovations to the K can entertain fans during a night of watching a losing team.

The team has to be the thing in the NFL, and Kansas City fans need to be wooed back to their old ways. That’s why the Chiefs are in the awkward position now of having to heavily promote to avoid blackouts in the first season of a “new” Arrowhead.

Even now, single-game seats are available for every game but the Monday night opener against the Chargers. Does that sound like a home-field advantage?

The actual game experience for most fans is improved only marginally by all the renovations.

The part that matters can only be addressed with a better team to root for. The Chiefs are showing some signs of doing that.

Lots more are needed.